Why aren't Brewer pitchers protecting Brewer hitters?

[Ennder]

Yeah, I heard Ron Santo was really whining about that play. However, I really don't think Prince did anything wrong. It seems like the baseball world in general seems to think Prince is an angry jerk and will look for any reason to complain about him.

Ron Santo whines about every play against the Cubs. That guy is almost as annoying as Hawk is.

[jhart05]

Tell you what, I'm getting a bit sick of seeing our guys get hit in the head. Intentional or not, that's unacceptable.

 

A few Cubs players better go down tonight.

[MaxJ72]

I am not much for charging the mount but I think that it needs to happen. Macha tried to take the high road and let the MLB take care of the problem with his players getting plucked, but in the end MLB doesn't want to protect its players by not suspending that pitcher from Atlanta. Plucking players usually just leads to plucking players again. I want to see Fielder or Weeks go after the pitcher. I think that would probably stop the problem first.

[fleehaw]

A different way to get revenge would be to have the pitcher intentionally walk the target and let Prince let loose on him at first base. You figure you'd definitely get some great shots in before getting pulled off. It's not going to happen, but it'd be pretty sweet if it did.

[FVBrewerFan]

I was expecting an "old school" vet like Hoffman to retaliate. And it would have been the perfect time, it's not like the game was on the line or anything. If I'm the Brewers, it's too late to do anything now. And Iwould take the high road and not do a darn thing. but the next time anyone throws a ball up around someone's hit, if they're hit or not, I want the batter to charge the mound and everyone in the dugout, bullpen, press box, front office, heck even Doorman storming the field.

 

I think the Brewers have definitely taken the high road on this, but enough is enough. Some of these have been on purpose, others are just bad pitches by bad pitchers. Either way, it's not acceptable. Pitching inside, even hitting someone is part of the game. Throwing at someone's head is not.

[Mr QL]

We should go on a beat down tour the rest of the season. We aren't making the playoffs but why not kick a lil butt?

[ecjimg]

I say hit zambrano and see if his anger management counseling is working

[homer]

I was expecting an "old school" vet like Hoffman to retaliate.

I don't know if he throws hard enough to consider it retaliation.

[pogokat]

preface: I hope carlos is ok

 

seriously, by taking out the Ruthian-Carlos Gomez, all the cubs did was increase the chances that someone who can actually hit major league pitching is playing against them...

 

in other words, not on purpose..

 

also, weeks stands on the plate...it's amazing he doesn't get hit 50 times a year...likewise, prince is the biggest player in baseball and he can't move when a ball is near him

 

but it would be fun to see him punch out carlos marmol, so i'm all about a brawl tonight

[FVBrewerFan]

Hitting Gomez on purpose doesn't necessarily have anything to do with how good he is. In fact, at that point in the game it had nothing to do with game strategy...heck the Brewers had like a 30 runs lead at the time. Sometimes guys have an x on their back for something they've said or done in the past. Some of this stuff goes back months, or even previous seasons. Now, I have no idea if it was on purpose or not. And if it WAS intential, I don't know if he meant to throw at his head. But again, to me it doesn't matter anymore.

[pogokat]

well, if it's the brewers job to protect people from things they did off the field or months ago, then why don't they just hire body guards to beat up the cubs in the parking lot?

 

protecting players is just dumb...these guys aren't 15...if it doesn't help the team win, then what's the point?

[FVBrewerFan]

The point is to make a statement to every team in the league. Namely, if you keep hitting our guys in the head, Prince, Loe, or some other large man will meet you on the mound and punch you in the face. I know it sounds juvenile, but Weeks and Gomez could have been badly injured- or worse. At some point you have to take a stand, or every team in the league will assume they can get away with it.

[pogokat]

If they really do think that the other teams are trying to hurt them, then they should sic'em with lawyers...just hitting them with baseballs is idiotic...

 

just name one team that missed the playoffs entirely because other teams tried to bean their players...i really am curious

[FVBrewerFan]

I'm sorry I don't get the connection. What does the playoffs have to do with your players getting hit in the head? You lost me. It's part of the game, and like it or not this is how it's been handled on the field for over 100 years. These things are handled on the field, not in court. What's next, teams going to court because an ump got the call wrong?

[logan82]

I'm sorry I don't get the connection. What does the playoffs have to do with your players getting hit in the head?

 

Did it help the teams win more games.

[pretendastronaut]

I'm failing to understand the path here. It seems nobody really thinks they hit Gomez in the head on purpose, thus it was an accident. But the argument also seems to be, that even if it was an accident, we should start a brawl and/or plunk several Cubs players tonight, to send a message to other teams to not make mistakes around us? What?

 

Based off previous media reports, the team thinks they are being targeted to often, and there have certainly seemed to be a lot of moments this year when things looked intentional. Wanting to stop that, I can understand, but this belief that we should be aggressively "showing" teams that we won't tolerate accidents, happens how? Gomez got hit in the helmet, it's scary, but it happens several times a season throughout the league.

[pogokat]

right..

 

what i want to know is if you win more games by hitting people...also, if you lose more games by getting hit..

 

i would also like to add the variable of player suspensions to this...

 

overall, i think it's stupid and that it's the kind of thing fans think players do...but players don't actually do it..

[Fatter than Joey]

I know it sounds juvenile

 

When you typed that, it should be the end of your argument.

[danzig6767]

.

 

also, weeks stands on the plate...it's amazing he doesn't get hit 50 times a year...

I hear this a lot and i wonder based on what? Watch Weeks tonight, he stands almost in the middle of the batters box, just a shade closer to the plate in the box compared to to outside of the box.

[dragoon84]

I hope we see a brawl soon. Opposing pitchers are getting away with this stuff too much, and yet, no one has done a thing about it. Macha has no fire, he's too cool and collected and cerebral. We don't need Nedly kind of Fire, but we really need a brawl soon, or else pitchers are just gonna keep plunking our players without end. This is ridiculous.

 

Screw winning or losing or if having a brawl helps or hurts either, its about pride here. This stuff has to end, NOW!

[MadScientist]

A different way to get revenge would be to have the pitcher intentionally walk the target and let Prince let loose on him at first base. You figure you'd definitely get some great shots in before getting pulled off. It's not going to happen, but it'd be pretty sweet if it did.

A variation on this that would not get an automatic and long suspension would be to walk (sliders in the dirt won't look to obvious) the guy and throw to first a lot, with Prince doing a hard swipe on the guy's face instead of on his hands. A few of those might drive the point home.

[FVBrewerFan]

right..

 

what i want to know is if you win more games by hitting people...also, if you lose more games by getting hit..

 

i would also like to add the variable of player suspensions to this...

 

overall, i think it's stupid and that it's the kind of thing fans think players do...but players don't actually do it..

Impossible to know. Maybe it fires up the team and it's the turning point of the season, who knows? Does it help a team when a Manager gets tossed from the game while shouting in an umpire's face to defend a player? I don't know, we can't prove it one way or another. Lots of players have superstitions, does that have anything to do with winning games? Well, if that's what makes a player confident and comfortable, maybe it does.

 

Point being, not everything is simply about winning more games, and whether it can be proven. If that was the standard, there would be no managers or coaches, because how can we prove one would win more games than another?

 

The point of fighting or retaliating in some other way is a message that there will be consequences for hitting our players, especially in the head. Is that guaranteed to work? Of course not. Then it's just plain revenge, and that's ok too.

 

[jjkoestler]

Re charging the mound: I'm honestly afraid that a Brewers player would charge the mound and receive a Pedro Martinez like beat down.

[Diskono]

I'm happy that we're getting lots of free baserunners and not giving away free baserunners.

[AJOHNSON104]

One of the major problems on this team has been the apparent lack of intensity. They don't seem to perform well under pressure and don't seem to care too much. As a former hard core sports guy, one of the things the opposition will respect is hard-nosed respectful intensity. In football, basketball, etc. teams get credit for paying tough defense without being dirty. The only place that can really be shown in baseball is by hitting the other team (not in the head) to let them know that they can't hit your guys without getting hit back. It shows you are a team and you'll protect each other. Doesn't really matter if you're right or not, its part of the idea that cohesion builds a better team and you're in it together. Brewer pitchers, even if they get ejected, need to retaliate to help this team cohese (if there is such a word).