September 25th Brewers-Braves Brawl… Latest: Gomez suspended (post 13)

[BrewCrewForever]

The Braves are truly the new Cardinals. A bunch of whiny babies holding up the silly un-written rules of the game. McCann was a punk, he was the biggest idiot of all, why he wasn't suspended was beyond me. I for one will never for get this incident though as my first born son was born two hours before this game started.

[Patrick425]

I'm not a big fan of a hitter posing after a home run, especially in the first inning. If it was a walk off or some late inning dramatic HR, then I can maybe see it. Like Lombardi said.."Act like you have been there before". Showboating does not make a sport more enjoyable for me to watch.

 

By the way..congrats BrewCrew Forever!!

[logan82]

You have to ask yourself WWTLD what would Tony Larussa do.

I would never want my team to do most of the things that hypocritical jackass would do. I am glad they didn't throw at McCann.

 

I would be extremely upset if Lucroy acted like McCann did. I am honestly not all the thrilled with how Gomez acted but that is just a minor irritation.

 

I don't know how McCann can get away with what he did though. Blocking Gomez instigated the whole brawl.

 

“If you want to sit there and watch it for a few seconds, I’m OK with that. But to round the bases and yell the whole way around the bases, I just I felt like I needed to say something. I don’t think that’s a part of the game of baseball. I thought he showed up our whole team. So I did what I felt any catcher would do in that situation. That’s sticking up for his teammate. He rounded third base and was still yelling, and I was furious. I don’t even know what happened after that.”

Odd, it looked to me like Gomez was yelling at the guys who yelled at him.

 

I don't have a problem with players watching their HR unless they tell other players not to do it(yeah you Pujols) or they get a single out of a double because they didn't run(that's you Billy).

 

Molina is still my least favorite catcher.

[bjkrautk]

Maybe I'm old school, but if you feel that the other team's player is taking too long circling the bases or admiring a home run....you don't block the plate; that actually gives the player more attention.

 

Next guy up gets one in the ribs. Everyone knows why it happened, and the showboat actually has someone on his team he needs to apologize to.

 

(It's still completely incongruous that the guy who's known for speeding around the bases on most HRs is the player who we're talking about. The major variable here seems to be the other team, who did something similar to another hitter just a short time ago.)

[TheCrew07]

it was discussed sorta in the game thread up top, but its not the first time McCann has been an instigator and a bully.

 

I haven't read the thread and figure I'll be in the minority here but Gomez was the instigator, not anyone from ATL. He pulled a similar stunt in a MiLB game last season when he was on his rehab stint and got a T-Rat plunked, in addition to getting into it with the opposing coaching staff after the game.

 

I understand why people will take up for one of our own but if the shoe was on the other foot would we have felt our players in the field instigated anything or the player who cadillaced his HR like he hit the deciding HR in the World Series?

 

Many of Gomez most ardent supporters around here speak of him in a very similar manner to how people spoke in support of Nyjer Morgan, and those "look at me" players just aren't my kind of guys, and I'll leave it at that.

 

I'm not suprised by this incident at all.

[TURBO]

If MLB ever looks anything like the NFL as far as player antics on the field, that is when my fandom will cease to exist.

[brwrsfan]

Nobody is saying Gomez isn't at fault to some degree here. But what I (and I think most of us) don't understand is how McCann gets of scott free, both from MLB and from the press.

 

It was his actions and his actions alone that started the phyiscal nature of the whole situation. Yelling is one thing, but to physically block the plate on a HR is simply not acceptable, I don't care what the situation is. Drill the next guy, drill Gomez next time up, whatever. But just becuase you're the catcher doesn't give you the right to act like a donkey on the field. Especially considering that he did almost the exact same thing to the Marlins just a couple of weeks ago.

 

Gomez started it with the admiring the HR, but McCann is at complete fault for the fighting that ensued afterwards IMO. I can't understand how umpires and MLB can watch what McCann did and not do anything about it. Again.

[danzig6767]

 

Only in baseball does this nonsense go on. If say Deion Sanders high stepped his way into the endzone after a great punt return, NFL players didn't start a brawl over it and dangerously fire a hard object at him the next time he took the field. In hockey, if a guy really celebrates after a great goal, an opposing player doesn't fire a hard puck 90mph at the guy the next time he's on the ice. In the NBA, if a guy celebrates a great play by drawing attention to himself, that doesn't lead to a brawl and a player on the other team picking up a hard object and firing it at the celebrating player. Just baseball does this crap.

 

Sanders has started brawls with his gloating and cockiness, it is not just baseball.

 

No professional sport takes these socalled unwritten rules so seriously and to then take it so far as to often throwing a rock hard ball 90mph at a player as retaliation is beyond ridiculous. That's legitimately very dangerous with the potential to cause a serious injury if the pitcher hits a player in the wrong spot.

 

Even a brawl in baseball can cause an injury, but a few guys pushing and throwing punches in the NFL is meaningless given all the gear they have on. Plus, if a few guys on a football field fight over whatever reason, we don't ever see nonsense of both teams all running on the field to take part as happens in baseball. Watching all of the guys from both bullpens come charging on to the field just adds to the silly behavior from many of these brawls in baseball over "slights" which strike me as childish whining more suited for 5th graders on a playground than very well paid grown men.

 

Let's start a big fight and maybe later even fire a baseball at some hitter because he looked at his home run for a second or two longer than i find acceptable. Really? Baseball players are that thin skinned over something this minor? FWIW, i'm not just talking about the Gomez incident because this crap has been going on for ages and for a variety of dumb slights.

[torts]

http://cdn1.sbnation.com/assets/3290681/Screen_Shot_2013-09-25_at_4.45.28_PM.png

[DuWayne Steurer]

So much to say here...

 

I think Gomez sometimes rubs teams the wrong way because he plays, literally, 110% all the time. He runs everything out at full speed, he throws balls back to the infield at full blast, even when nobody is on base, etc, etc, etc. He's not showing anyone up, that's just how he plays.

 

The other night.......he just, yeah. For whatever reason, he felt the hit back in July was on purpose. Was it? Only Maholm knows. I'm not giving Gomez a pass on how he behaved, but this whole 'keepers of baseball etiquette' and 'we play the game the right way' crap is seriously ridiculous from Maholm, McCann, and Freeman.

 

I'm not a big FAN of guys admiring their home runs, but it doesn't really bother me. The only time it really irks me is when it's a guy like Pujols who does it everytime he hits a long fly ball, and then tells other guys not to do it. If a guy wants to watch a homerun, I don't care. As long as he doesn't make a big show (Bryce Harper) of it.

 

The other stuff......all the plunking and stuff......that's last century nonsense that baseball really needs to let go of. It's like fighting in hockey. It serves no purpose. Zero. None.

[danzig6767]

So much to say here...

 

I'm not a big FAN of guys admiring their home runs, but it doesn't really bother me. The only time it really irks me is when it's a guy like Pujols who does it everytime he hits a long fly ball, and then tells other guys not to do it. If a guy wants to watch a homerun, I don't care. As long as he doesn't make a big show (Bryce Harper) of it.

 

What the hell is such a big deal about any hitter admiring a long home run?

 

To me, when a batter just crushes a ball for a long and high home run, it's one of the prettiest things in all of sports. Why shouldn't a hitter get to admire his work there for a few seconds? While DVR's are a great invention for many reasons, one benefit for me is being able to rewind and watch multiple times when a batter just crushes a ball. It should be something to enjoy and admire without a pitcher or the other team being so thin skinned to demand retaliation like kids on a playground. Sure, if a guy not only watches his homer for 2-3 seconds, he also points right at the pitcher and say follows that by doing a back flip on the way to first base, then yea there is reason to get really annoyed. Just watching it though for a few seconds should be nothing to get all bent out of shape about.

 

One of my favorite players ever was Ricky Henderson. Often when he'd really crush a ball, he would first flip his bat, then admire the ball flying for a second or two, and finally do his own little Ricky like trot around the bases. It was funny/entertaining and the same with Manny Ramirez. Someone explain to me why this is supposed to be such a major offense to other players/teams? Or the Prince and Brewers bowling ball pins deal after a walk off homer vs the Giants?

 

The other stuff......all the plunking and stuff......that's last century nonsense that baseball really needs to let go of. It's like fighting in hockey. It serves no purpose. Zero. None.

If i was baseball commissioner, i honestly would suspend any pitcher at least 20 games if i felt he hit a batter on purpose. We are talking about throwing basically a rock at a person at very high velocity, and on purpose. That could potentially cause a serious injury. If a pitcher purposely threw at a guy and it ended up near a batters head, i'd suspend the guy at least 50 games.

[DuWayne Steurer]

So much to say here...

 

I'm not a big FAN of guys admiring their home runs, but it doesn't really bother me. The only time it really irks me is when it's a guy like Pujols who does it everytime he hits a long fly ball, and then tells other guys not to do it. If a guy wants to watch a homerun, I don't care. As long as he doesn't make a big show (Bryce Harper) of it.

 

What the hell is such a big deal about any hitter admiring a long home run?

 

.

 

Um...........I just said, it doesn't really bother me. It's just not something I'm a big 'fan' of. I don't care if guys do it, or not. It doesn't matter to me, one way or the other. The only thing that bothers me about it (as I said before) is when a guy like Pujols watches his HR's, and then chides others for doing so. I think you misconstrued what I said. I don't care if a guy watches his homers, or not. When I say I'm 'not a fan', I should have changed the way I worded it. I don't draw extra entertainment value from it, but......it doesn't bother me. As long as a guy isn't trying to directly diss an opponent (pointing, jawing, that sort of stuff), I just don't care. I mentioned Bryce Harper because he's had a few instances of being kind of a dick, and pointing at pitchers, benches and stuff. That's not necessary.

[BrewersSuperCollector]

So much to say here...

 

I think Gomez sometimes rubs teams the wrong way because he plays, literally, 110% all the time. He runs everything out at full speed, he throws balls back to the infield at full blast, even when nobody is on base, etc, etc, etc. He's not showing anyone up, that's just how he plays.

 

The other night.......he just, yeah. For whatever reason, he felt the hit back in July was on purpose. Was it? Only Maholm knows.

 

The other stuff......all the plunking and stuff......that's last century nonsense that baseball really needs to let go of. It's like fighting in hockey. It serves no purpose. Zero. None.

 

 

I believe Gomez was hit on the knee on purpose. He's a guy that's biggest asset is his speed.

 

Do you believe it was on accident that Segura was hit on the wrists the day after his 6 hit game against the Twins?

[MNBrew]

Reality's been skewed in so many folks' perceptions very quickly (not so much here but definitely in media commentary across the country):

 

Gomez didn't STOP or STAND to admire his HR against Maholm AT ALL. He moved reasonably by average standards although kind of slow by GoGo standards, but he was in FORWARD MOTION THE WHOLE TIME. He walks for his first 6 steps after contact -- the first two of which most no one sprints on on a blast like that -- but then gets jogging at a perfectly normal/acceptable pace.

 

Check it out again starting at 2:26 (of the video that's 5:57 long -- I'd rather listen to our announcers than Atlanta's):

http://milwaukee.brewers.mlb.com/mlb/gameday/index.jsp?gid=2013_09_25_milmlb_atlmlb_1&mode=recap&c_id=atl#gid=2013_09_25_milmlb_atlmlb_1&mode=video

[torts]

you all need to realize that this is the same team that yelled at Bryce Harper for taking 2 extra seconds to trot around the bags after he hit a home run off a braves pitcher. team is a bunch of ninny's

[LouisEly]

The Brewers are 17 games under .500 at the time and the Braves are best team have the best record in the NL. I'm not sure why Gomez felt the need to taunt them.

Slight correction - if the Braves were in the NL Central playing the Cardinals, Reds, and Pirates instead of the Mets, Phillies, and Nationals they would be a .500 team. For chrissakes, the Brewers starting pitching has dominated the Braves this year.

[BrewCrewForever]

I'm not a big fan of a hitter posing after a home run, especially in the first inning. If it was a walk off or some late inning dramatic HR, then I can maybe see it. Like Lombardi said.."Act like you have been there before". Showboating does not make a sport more enjoyable for me to watch.

 

By the way..congrats BrewCrew Forever!!

 

Thanks! I appreciate it. Baby Jaxon and Mom are doing well.

[MNBrew]

I'm not a big fan of a hitter posing after a home run, especially in the first inning. If it was a walk off or some late inning dramatic HR, then I can maybe see it. Like Lombardi said.."Act like you have been there before". Showboating does not make a sport more enjoyable for me to watch.

I totally agree with your overall point, but Gomez wasn't posing and he wasn't showboating. Watch the video (just watch it, don't waste time listening to much of the announcers' commentary) & read the story. He was making a point to Maholm (and has been quoted about what he said) that he got retribution for what he felt was an intentional beaning in May which, I believe I heard, had followed a HR.

[burnzy24]

Someone made a t-shirt over the McCann-Gomez confrontation.

 

http://teespring.com/uploads/2013/09/27/17/121791/shirtFront.jpg?v=2013-09-27

 

http://teespring.com/braveshouse

[LS Brewer]

I thought this was a good article that touches on the Gomez-McCann confrontation.

 

http://www.sportsonearth.com/article/62352290/

 

The author's point is that the so-called unwritten rules of the game are changing (or should be) due the growing Latino presence in the major leagues. Personally, I enjoy a little bit of flash. It adds something to the game. I don't view those who feel otherwise with contempt or anything. I just get tired of the "Guardians of the Game" taking the unwritten rules so seriously as to punish any individuality in the game.

[Outlander]

The first post in their comments section said it all "Playing the game the right way" = playing the game the white way. McCann should tread lightly in the future as he may get a pretty bad label attached to him if he keeps it up with these Latino players.

[TURBO]

You think this has to do with race? I think it just has to do with McCann being a knob... I highly doubt being Latino has a single thing to do with what McCann does.

[Outlander]

Yes I do, McCann is a lot worse than a knob in my opinion.

[torts]

The first post in their comments section said it all "Playing the game the right way" = playing the game the white way. McCann should tread lightly in the future as he may get a pretty bad label attached to him if he keeps it up with these Latino players.

 

[sarcasm]Bryce Harper is latino?[/sarcasm]

[jerichoholicninja]

It has nothing to do with McCann being a racist or anything. He's talking about culture. Watch the WBC. The Latin American countries play the game with flair and passion and their fans are partying, dancing, and singing in the stands. The American players on the other hand play stoic, emotionless baseball and the fans golf clap at homeruns. I can see how guys who have played in America their whole life would be offended by someone (gasp!) having fun and showing it while they play.