Giants' plunking of Fielder (March 4, first ST game)

[endaround]

Here's what bothers me. The celebration was Fielder making fun of himself and his size. Maybe because the Giants are from SF, where earthquakes have history, that they were sensitive to Fielder setting off a "quake" by jumping on home plate and thought it was specifically aimed at San Francisco? But come on, it was done in the Brewer's home stadium to entertain Brewer fans when the Giants should have been off the field anyway.

It doesnt matter where it takes place. Plus the Giants are still going to be on the field/dugout when it is going on. This is what happens when people show boat in baseball. I liked the celebration but figured he would get it someday. Just like the pitcher from the Pirates that beaned Braun last year....the Brewers took their sweat time in getting them back. Players dont forget what happened.

 

And how many times was Kirk Gibson plunked then for his showboating?

[TooLiveBrew]

Plus, no one can honestly think this deterred Prince in any way. He got hit in the back by a soft-tosser in a ST game. All this did is make the Giants feel like they're important.

[RightFieldCoder]

Maybe the fans are more upset than the team. The Giants figure a soft tossing lefty hitting Fielder in ST will satisfy the fans so that the team doesn't have the pressure to "get revenge". Hopefully this is the end of the situation.

[dlk9s]

I would pay a not insignificant amount of money for the Brewers to do the exact same celebration if someone hits another walk-off against the Giants this year.

[SeriesFinale]

Maybe the fans are more upset than the team. The Giants figure a soft tossing lefty hitting Fielder in ST will satisfy the fans so that the team doesn't have the pressure to "get revenge". Hopefully this is the end of the situation.

It's funny, I'd say the majority of Giants' fans were happy about the plunking and thinking Prince deserved it for showboating, but about 25% thought it was a silly response to goofy fun (that some of them actually thought was pretty funny). And yeah, I've heard some of them point out how silly it was since it wasn't just Prince on it. That earthquake theory, while interesting, is not one I've heard from anyone here whatsoever though!

 

Anyway, this came up on the Rome show this morning as well. It does seem to have picked up a bit of ink nationally since at the elast it's pretty odd that someone gets plunked in ST for something that happened 6 months ago.

 

 

[Tbadder]

That was pretty weak on the Giants part. I'm a traditionalist for sure. I love the celebration but I do believe it deserves a proper plunking--something really hard and high. I'm pretty much sick of sports celebrations they're becoming so much oneupmanship. So I say go for it. Go for the over the top creative celebration, but please make the retaliation hurt big time.

[SeriesFinale]

Bruce Jenkins' column in the Chron today is riding awfully high on the horse.

 

Prince is the biggest jerk in the game, apparently.

 

[endaround]

Yes, but does anyone think that if the Brewers offred Prince up to teh giants in trade that the fans would refuse to watch?

[crewcrazy]

The poor man just doesn't get it, and undoubtedly never will.

 

That's a pretty strong statement about a guy who's 25 years old. Jenkins must have been climbing for days to get up on a soapbox that big...jeez.

[bigredrobbo]

Those glass houses in San Fran must be mighty impervious to stones, is all I'm thinking!

[logan82]

Plus the Giants are still going to be on the field/dugout when it is going on.

 

I think they could get off the field by the time Fielder rounded the bases if they really wanted to. Fielder isn't exactly a really fast guy and he was trotting not sprinting.

 

Those glass houses in San Fran must be mighty impervious to stones, is all I'm thinking!

 

Bonds is no longer part of the team. They are all classy nonshowboaters now.

[SeriesFinale]

Bonds is still revered here, however.

[logan82]

Bonds is still revered here, however.

In that case they are the biggest bunch of hypocrites I have ever had the pleasure of not meeting.

[SeriesFinale]

Not to take this thread on a tangent, but they've even had me drinking the Kool-Aid regarding Bonds: "Yeah, maybe he did take steroids...but how can you quantify it?" etc etc

[battlekow]

The "speculation" just ticks me off: why use Occam's Razor and surmise the likeliest: that the location and much-mocked speed of Zito's fastball didn't actually hurt him, and rather than coming out in the 1st without an AB in the first ST game of the year, Fielder waved him off, when you can "speculate" that Prince is a heavy with violent intentions swinging his weight around the organization?

Well, both the Journal Sentinel and MLB.com speculated the same.

[Ennder]

Well, both the Journal Sentinel and MLB.com speculated the same.

The media's job is to try to make a story where there isn't one most of the time so I'm not surprised at all they speculated.

[joepepsi]

It was a goofy, fun thing to do. I never understood how that celebration was any more showboating than the standard "mob the hero at home plate" celebration that takes place after every walk off.

 

It was one of the highlights of the season.

[battlekow]

The media's job is to try to make a story where there isn't one most of the time so I'm not surprised at all they speculated.

I was responding to Rev. SeriesFinale, who was offended that a Giants writer was speculating about Fielder's intentions, by pointing out that it wasn't only the San Francisco press that thought perhaps Fielder had revenge on his mind.

[sargennm]

Well, both the Journal Sentinel and MLB.com speculated the same.

The media's job is to try to make a story where there isn't one most of the time so I'm not surprised at all they speculated.

That's idiotic hyperbole, and an insult to many hardworking men and women in the profession.

[SeriesFinale]

The media's job is to try to make a story where there isn't one most of the time so I'm not surprised at all they speculated.

I was responding to Rev. SeriesFinale, who was offended that a Giants writer was speculating about Fielder's intentions, by pointing out that it wasn't only the San Francisco press that thought perhaps Fielder had revenge on his mind.

I wasn't offended specifically because it was Schulman, who I think generally does a pretty good job (not sure where you got that idea, either). I think it's an unfair and maybe irresponsible thing to speculate whoever the journalist.

 

Anyway, here is Golic's rant from earlier today.

 

[pretendastronaut]

Bruce Jenkins' column in the Chron today is riding awfully high on the horse.

 

Prince is the biggest jerk in the game, apparently.

 

 

This was retaliation in its most pristine form. A pitch near Fielder's head - or off his helmet - would have touched off a brawl, with the potential consequence of injury (no need for that in a game that doesn't count).

Wait. What? No need for throwing at the head in a game that doesn't count? So if it had counted...? And the consequence of injury you're worried about is from the brawl? Not, say, the THROWING AT THE HEAD!? Wow.

[molitor fan]

Jenkins article was absolutely disgusting.....what an embarrassment to his profession

[SoCal Brew Crew Fan]

Prince's celebration was simply an ode to Milwaukee's storied yet tragic relationship with bowling...from canceling Laverne & Shirley to the untimely death of Earl Anthony finally culminating in losing the National Bowling Hall of Fame...it was more an emotional opera than cocky celebration. I'll bet Zito uses an 8 pound ball.

[Diskono]

One of these days Prince is going to hurt somebody. I don't know why these pitchers throw at him. Here's to Prince moon walking around the bases then doing the worm across home plate next time we play the giants though.

YES.

"They have to do what they have to do. Whatever," he said.

"I didn't see anything coming, but they have to do what they have to

do. It's not going to take it away. It's chronicled. ... It is what it

is. I hit the home run. Hit me. If that's what you've got to do, then that's what you've got to do."

Prince Fielder rules

Its true, and Barry Zito knows that a man's gotta do what a man's gotta do.

[SeriesFinale]

Yeah, somebody at the Chronicle's messageboard wrote yesterday that Zito's plunking stood for "dignity and class" and I replied that if he knew anything about those things his musical career would've ended a long time ago. Didn't go over so well.