Fight Night

[Brian the Automator]

I am sorry to disagree with everyone who takes the approach that they don't want retaliation, sorry but if we don't retaliate we will have a hitter hurt because they are going to keep on getting drilled. All it takes is one good fastball in the back, get tossed and say..."hey we are not going to allow pitchers to continue to hit Braun and Fielder square in the back" We risk a more serious injury by allowing opposing pitchers to drill Braun and Prince than if we retaliate and try to stop it!

I would agree with you if it wasn't for the stupid rule that if you retaliate, you get ejected.

[Invader3K]

I think there is something to protecting the players...you just have to pick your spots to do it, very carefully. There's nothing to say we can't still bean one of their guys down the line...maybe late in the season when the Brewers have secured a playoff berth and the Pirates have secured another losing season would be an ideal time.

[Fatter than Joey]

I would agree with you if it wasn't for the stupid rule that if you retaliate, you get ejected.

 

and suspended -- you want Braun/Yo out for 3 games? No thanks.

 

Our retaliation is winning 15 in a row on these clowns.

 

If I were Macha -- I'd get into the umpires grills before the game and berate them in public if they let a pitcher throw at one of our players.

[PlayerHader]

I'll take a 3-gamer for Yo. We'll call it the Josh Beckett penalty.

[Pioneers3]

I would agree with you if it wasn't for the stupid rule that if you retaliate, you get ejected.

 

and suspended -- you want Braun/Yo out for 3 games? No thanks.

 

Our retaliation is winning 15 in a row on these clowns.

 

If I were Macha -- I'd get into the umpires grills before the game and berate them in public if they let a pitcher throw at one of our players.

Last time I checked the Stats for Braun he had 0 innings pitched in his Professional Career, and if YO would have drilled somebody he would be the most popular person in the Clubhouse!

[Fatter than Joey]

Last time I checked the Stats for Braun he had 0 innings pitched in his Professional Career

 

Let's not pretend that positional players have never been suspended/injured from fallouts resulting from beanball wars.

 

if YO would have drilled somebody he would be the most popular person in the Clubhouse!

 

Yo pitched an 2-hit shutout and provided 100% of the offense -- I think he is plenty popular.

[Pioneers3]

Last time I checked the Stats for Braun he had 0 innings pitched in his Professional Career

 

Let's not pretend that positional players have never been suspended/injured from fallouts resulting from beanball wars.

 

if YO would have drilled somebody he would be the most popular person in the Clubhouse!

 

Yo pitched an 2-hit shutout and provided 100% of the offense -- I think he is plenty popular.

I am not talking about a beanball war, after the warning somebody has got to bite the bullet and get tossed, if it is handled correctly, you have a little used reliever suspended 3 games (as long as he doesn't go at the head) and pitchers start thinking twice about coming inside to much.

 

Ok, Bad example to use YO, but if Suppan would have drilled somebody, he would be the most popular guy in the clubhouse.

[Baldkin]

So, wait, let me get this right, in order to stop the bean ball wars, we need to bean people preemptively so that they won't bean our guys.... this means they won't retaliate and bean us back afterwords because we aren't afraid to bean them again?

 

What?

[TooLiveBrew]

You've gotta take the beanball fight to them... otherwise the terrorists win.

[theavrock]

You've gotta take the beanball fight to them... otherwise the terrorists win.

 

AMERICA!!!

[Fatter than Joey]

somebody has got to bite the bullet and get tossed

 

Or, somebody can bite the bullet, take one on the back pocket, go to 1b and have Prince drive them in.

 

if it is handled correctly, you have a little used reliever suspended 3 games

 

why should we go down a man in our BP? seems like we would be at a disadvantage for 3 games.

[igor67]

May I propose the most entertaining solution would be that the player after knowing he was intentionally hit just take a big bow and thank the catcher/pitcher before heading down to first. If they were mad before they'll be beside themselves after having been mocked.

[Invader3K]

It would be funny to see, say, Ryan Braun strut down to first base after getting hit by a pitch.

[theavrock]

Maybe he should untuck a flap on his shirt since that was apparently what they were so up in arms about.

[Nottso]

It'd also be funny if one of the guys were to covertly tape a bullseye to Braun's back right before he leaves the dugout for an at-bat. I'm sure MLB wouldn't see the humor in it, though.

[SeriesFinale]

Well, I suppose it's worth bumping this.

 

Macha doesn't seem to indicate any interest whatsoever in getting further caught up in this scrum, but you can't help but feel again that this might spill over at some point the next two days. These two teams have not liked each other the last couple years (even though most of the Pirates have turned over since the last time they beat the Brewers).

[SeriesFinale]

Another thing those in baseball say, according to the many players fuming in the Pirates' clubhouse, is that retribution comes swiftly or not at all.

Karstens hit Braun one at-bat after a home run April 27 at Miller Park and prompted a torrent of venom from Braun the next 48 hours, during which he, among other headline-grabbing comments, warned Bud Selig, Major League Baseball's commissioner, to pay attention to future meetings between the Brewers and Pirates because of possible retribution.

"Yeah, I had an idea they'd throw at me," Karstens said last night. "But they had a chance to hit me that day in Milwaukee and didn't take it. Then, they hit a few of our guys the next day."

The Brewers hit three Pirates April 28, with no response from the Pirates other than to insist that Karstens did not hit Braun intentionally and that they were moving on.

And, as Karstens noted, he batted right after hitting Braun and struck out without so much as a brushback.

The latter was Pirates manager John Russell's main beef last night.

"They had a chance to get him the game he pitched," Russell said. "For them to wait two months or whatever it is, after they hit a bunch of our guys the next day. To wait two or three months... I don't understand that. They made such a big deal about it, they had their opportunity, and they're going to wait until they're getting beat? I don't understand it."

Others took issue mostly with Braun.

As Karstens was being interviewed, Young yelled to him from across the clubhouse, "Call him a coward!"

"It's cheap. Very cheap," closer Matt Capps said of the incident last night. "We all know Karstens had no intention of hitting Braun in Milwaukee. The whole thing was blown way out of proportion by one guy, and it's ridiculous. Their whole team is going to let one guy run the morale of their whole team? Hey, that's their prerogative."

Braun was not immediately available for comment.

From the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette write-up of the game.

 

A lot of tough guys behind closed doors in the Pittsburgh clubhouse. I can't blame them for getting chippy considering the state of their season (again) and of the franchise. All the more reason not to lose any guys to suspension over these sad-sacks.

[Tailgat0r76]

"To wait two or three months... I don't understand that."

 

Are you kidding?! Wasn't this all started because Braun got nailed after his "undressing" after his walk-off LAST SEASON? They can hold a grudge over an entire off-season, but we can't hold one during a season?

[pretendastronaut]

I enjoy the belief that an erratic Dave Bush grazing 3 jerseys the following day was apparently some sort of retaliation in their book.

 

The other choice quote from that article is that Braun supposedly unleashed a "torrent of venom" for the next 48 hours. As far as I recall, he was aggressive after the first game, and called it over the next day. I know there has been plenty of talk in the past, but I really believe Braun gets labeled a bit harder than he actually deserves. At least from where I sit.

[sdcheezhd]

I didn't see it or hear it but BBTN's take was that Braun did nothing wrong, Karstens deserved to get hit, if he had just gone to 1st like Kendall told him to nothing would have happened but instead he and his punk team started a fight. All love for the Brewers and none for the Pirates.

[pretendastronaut]

One of the Pirates announcers thought Karstens should have just walked to first and taken his medicine as well.

[brewmann04]

I wonder if that was either Bob Walk or Steve Blass both ex Pitchers who knew how to play the game.

[SoCal Brew Crew Fan]

I'm officially raising Kendall's OPS by 50 pts in my own mind after last night. I don't know what he was saying, but Karstens looked terrified.

 

They didn't retaliate in Milwaukee because both benches were warned after Karstens hit Braun and the next night Bush's pitches were 3 misplaced curve balls that grazed some uniforms. If they want to know what a purpose pitch is, look at last nights game, heed the message and take your base like a man.

 

"Dave Kurwin"...now that's hilarious.

[pretendastronaut]

It's amazing how many Pirates fans online are calling for actual physical injuries as a response. Throwing at faces, throwing at the head, throwing at wrists, all seem fair game for most of them.

 

And all the while calling the Crew and us fans classless. Amazing. I can understand high emotions as a response, but seriously, everyone knows you don't respond with that type of intent on the field.

[topper09er]

It's amazing how many Pirates fans online are calling for actual physical injuries as a response. Throwing at faces, throwing at the head, throwing at wrists, all seem fair game for most of them.

There are Pirates fans? I guess both of them are on the internet today... When I was in Pittsburgh last season (for CCs no hitter) I couldnt find one fan in my section who knew who Honus Wagner, Paul Waner or Pie Traynor was.