Bo Porter: Re-Writing the Unwritten Rules

[azcheesehead]

http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20140418&content_id=72599650&vkey=news_hou&c_id=hou

 

I just don't get this stuff. If you don't like that someone else is playing competitively in the first inning of a MLB game, don't give up 7 runs.

 

If I were Bo, I would worry about learning the actual rules first.....

 

Thoughts?

[jerichoholicninja]

The bunt attempt was dumb but Bo Porter acting like an idiot was even dumber.

[BrewersSuperCollector]

Bo didn't want to play Lowrie straight up, and put the shift on him. I don't blame him for bunting in the first inning.

[DuWayne Steurer]

The bunt attempt was dumb but Bo Porter acting like an idiot was even dumber.

 

Why was the bunt attempt dumb? It was the first inning and they had a shift on him.

[RockCoCougars]

Funny, we just had a debate on this here a few weeks ago. Bottom line, if you play extreme shifts, don't expect the opponent not to attempt to alter their approach. Complaining about it is bush league.

[pretendastronaut]

I don't understand it when this stuff happens early in a game, as if no team has ever come back from such an early deficit. Does Bo Porter tell his guys after the first to pack it in, the game is lost?

[adambr2]

I'm so tired of managers getting all uppity over unwritten rules (which are a gray area as it is because they're not always the same for each manager).

 

It's not up to you to decide what is enough runs for the other team, Bo Porter. Why don't you try getting out of the inning? Doesn't say much for your confidence in your guys if you think the game is over in the first inning.

[sauveb]

Bo should just take his ball and go home. He isn't ready to play with the big boys.

[HiAndTight]

Bo should just take his ball and go home. He isn't ready to play with the big boys.

 

 

 

I like Porter. And I also think what he did was kinda stupid and childish(which of course is nothing like most MLB "measuring contests."

 

It's Houston though. They need a manager to give them a chip on their shoulder and light a fire under them, and to help the young guys develop some confidence.

 

 

Edit-Had this been Tony LaRussa, I would be advocating a 162 game ban!

[Invader3K]

In pro sports, I have no problem with teams running up the score as much as possible. A handful of extra hits for a guy during a season can make the difference in what they are paid the following year. If Porter doesn't like it, he should retire and go coach the team at his local high school or something.

[owbc]

Lowrie nailed it after the game:

 

"Why is it OK for you to shift down seven but it’s not OK for me to bunt?"

[adambr2]

Bo should just take his ball and go home. He isn't ready to play with the big boys.

 

 

 

I like Porter. And I also think what he did was kinda stupid and childish(which of course is nothing like most MLB "measuring contests."

 

It's Houston though. They need a manager to give them a chip on their shoulder and light a fire under them, and to help the young guys develop some confidence.

 

 

Edit-Had this been Tony LaRussa, I would be advocating a 162 game ban!

 

Yes they do need that...but is this the right way to do it? Frankly if I'm a Houston player I'm wondering why our manager thinks we have no shot at coming back down 7 in the first inning and why the unwritten 'mercy' rules apply already.

[1992casey]

I'm not a fan of running up the score by using smallball tactics when there's a big lead, but given the shift and the fact that this was the first inning, I don't think this situation counts as running up the score.

[danzig6767]

I'm so tired of managers getting all uppity over unwritten rules (which are a gray area as it is because they're not always the same for each manager).

 

To me, it's not just managers, it's also players. Take the Gomez situation today for example.

 

Few things in baseball bother me more than the socalled unwritten rules about how players or teams are supposed to behave.

 

This is professional baseball not little league. It's paid entertainment. To me, out there personalities are good for the game. It helps cause fans of opposing teams hate certain players, which i view as a positive. We need more of that, not less IMO.

 

Never once have i gotten upset for say a hitter admiring a hard hit ball, a pitcher showing lots of emotion after a big K, a basestealer being flashy after stealing a base, etc etc. Cocky personalities like Manny, Pujols, Rickie Henderson, David Ortiz, Gomez, and many others help make the game more interesting to me. What bothers me instead is when certain players or managers feel they get to be the deciders of how much emotion a player can show after say a big hit or admiring a home run. Feel they get to decide when a team should stop trying hard to tack on more runs to a lead. Thus, they feel they are entitled to start yelling at a cocky players, yell at an opposing manager, or throw a rock hard ball at the player traveling 90 mph or faster. It's ridiculous and annoys the hell out of me.

 

So yea Carlos acted like a hot dog after hitting that ball, admiring it for a few seconds, and didn't run right away. If anyone should have been mad it's Roenicke for Carlos failing to run hard right away, not Cole. Just take the ball, shut the hell up, and pitch to the next batter. I'd say the same if roles were reversed.

[adambr2]

I'm so tired of managers getting all uppity over unwritten rules (which are a gray area as it is because they're not always the same for each manager).

 

To me, it's not just managers, it's also players. Take the Gomez situation today for example.

 

Few things in baseball bother me more than the socalled unwritten rules about how players or teams are supposed to behave.

 

This is professional baseball not little league. It's paid entertainment. To me, out there personalities are good for the game. It helps cause fans of opposing teams hate certain players, which i view as a positive. We need more of that, not less IMO.

 

Never once have i gotten upset for say a hitter admiring a hard hit ball, a pitcher showing lots of emotion after a big K, a basestealer being flashy after stealing a base, etc etc. Cocky personalities like Manny, Pujols, Rickie Henderson, David Ortiz, Gomez, and many others help make the game more interesting to me. What bothers me instead is when certain players or managers feel they get to be the deciders of how much emotion a player can show after say a big hit or admiring a home run. Feel they get to decide when a team should stop trying hard to tack on more runs to a lead. Thus, they feel they are entitled to start yelling at a cocky players, yell at an opposing manager, or throw a rock hard ball at the player traveling 90 mph or faster. It's ridiculous and annoys the hell out of me.

 

So yea Carlos acted like a hot dog after hitting that ball, admiring it for a few seconds, and didn't run right away. If anyone should have been mad it's Roenicke for Carlos failing to run hard right away, not Cole. Just take the ball, shut the hell up, and pitch to the next batter. I'd say the same if roles were reversed.

 

+1.

 

I'm sorry, but baseball players, managers, and coaches alike have got to come down from their pedestals in their pursuit of preserving the integrity of the game.

 

We're a steroid era, a bunch of corked bats, and many scandals removed from that. Just like it's no longer "rude" to dunk in the NBA, the game of baseball has also changed, forever. The silent egos in the game, from players, managers, and umpires is unreal, and it's really become a guessing game as to who is going to get offended by what. It's time to throw out most of the unwritten rulebook.

 

I agree that the Brewers should be the only ones upset at Carlos. The one damn time he doesn't actually run something out and this is the result.

[TooLiveBrew]

This all has been making me think of the Cards feeling the need, once upon a time, to lecture Mike Cameron on untucking his freakin' jersey after the ends of games.

 

The unwritten rules stuff is just nonsense, & frankly I'm glad to support a club that's well ahead of the curve on this topic.

[danzig6767]

Yea, that stuff with Cameron and the jerseys was beyond ridiculous.

 

Plus, i think in a lot of cases, if a certain player on a team continually goes overboard with antics, most managers will eventually reign that guy in without players/managers on other teams throwing a fit. Look at Nyger Morgan. At first his whole T-Plush persona was viewed as fun and playful by the team, but after awhile Nyger got over the top with his shtick and was told to reign in the attitude in house.

 

As much as i'm for more personalities in baseball and that i generally don't mind flashy/cocky professional athletes, i do think a player can eventually cross a line to where his repeated behavior looks bad for the organization and thus should be spoken to by the manager and/or front office to tone things down. That's how these things should be handled IMO, not by other teams instigating brawls, running their mouths, or dangerously hitting players on purpose with a baseball.

[pretendastronaut]

Porter is working on becoming the next LaRussa.

 

Lowrie was plunked last night, by the same pitcher who tried to plunk him last week.

 

In that game, Clemens appeared to try to hit Lowrie with a pitch in the third inning after Lowrie had attempted a bunt in the first with Oakland up by seven runs. Houston manager Bo Porter came out of the dugout to scream at Lowrie after he hit a fly out following two inside pitches.

 

On Thursday night, Clemens was tossed after hitting Lowrie on the backside with the first pitch of the at-bat with Oakland leading 8-1. Lowrie had doubled off him in the fifth.

 

The Astros denied Lowrie was hit intentionally.

 

"There was no carry-over on my end," Clemens said. "What happened in Oakland was squashed in Oakland. Bad pitch there. It just so happened I cut a fastball. We wanted to go inside on him."

 

Lowrie got a bit of justice when Josh Donaldson hit his second home run after the plunking.

 

"I love it. I love it," Lowrie repeated when asked about the homer.

 

Porter was evasive when asked whether Clemens hit Lowrie on purpose.

 

"I think the game of baseball takes care of itself," he said. "George Springer got hit tonight, and it's part of the game."

 

http://scores.espn.go.com/mlb/recap?gameId=340424118

[WV Brew]

I wonder who decides baseball etiquette when the Pirates face the Cards?

[HiAndTight]

Bo should just take his ball and go home. He isn't ready to play with the big boys.

 

 

 

I like Porter. And I also think what he did was kinda stupid and childish(which of course is nothing like most MLB "measuring contests."

 

It's Houston though. They need a manager to give them a chip on their shoulder and light a fire under them, and to help the young guys develop some confidence.

 

 

Edit-Had this been Tony LaRussa, I would be advocating a 162 game ban!

 

Yes they do need that...but is this the right way to do it? Frankly if I'm a Houston player I'm wondering why our manager thinks we have no shot at coming back down 7 in the first inning and why the unwritten 'mercy' rules apply already.

 

 

You're not wrong and I'm not advocating Porter's actions in this particular case, I'm just saying that I like Porter in general and his attitude. Clearly here he was a bit of a clown, but [expletive deleted by moderator]...the Astro's need something to wake that franchise up. Sure, guys like Springer and Appel and Corriea are the ones who will have the biggest impact, but when you're as bad as they've been for as long as they've been, sometimes just getting pissed is helpful.

 

For the record, based on how they've been hitting, I doubt the Astro players were real confident they were going to come back from 7-0 to win anyway, but we're just guessing at the players responses.

[HiAndTight]

I wonder who decides baseball etiquette when the Pirates face the Cards?

 

 

Well, they likely have Brian McCann watching the game from MLB's "decorum," headquarters in case they need a review to time how long someone watched a ball, and the entire Atlanta Braves team is likely available to consult.

[HiAndTight]

Porter is working on becoming the next LaRussa.

 

Lowrie was plunked last night, by the same pitcher who tried to plunk him last week.

 

In that game, Clemens appeared to try to hit Lowrie with a pitch in the third inning after Lowrie had attempted a bunt in the first with Oakland up by seven runs. Houston manager Bo Porter came out of the dugout to scream at Lowrie after he hit a fly out following two inside pitches.

 

On Thursday night, Clemens was tossed after hitting Lowrie on the backside with the first pitch of the at-bat with Oakland leading 8-1. Lowrie had doubled off him in the fifth.

 

The Astros denied Lowrie was hit intentionally.

 

"There was no carry-over on my end," Clemens said. "What happened in Oakland was squashed in Oakland. Bad pitch there. It just so happened I cut a fastball. We wanted to go inside on him."

 

Lowrie got a bit of justice when Josh Donaldson hit his second home run after the plunking.

 

"I love it. I love it," Lowrie repeated when asked about the homer.

 

Porter was evasive when asked whether Clemens hit Lowrie on purpose.

 

"I think the game of baseball takes care of itself," he said. "George Springer got hit tonight, and it's part of the game."

 

http://scores.espn.go.com/mlb/recap?gameId=340424118

 

Maybe he is...maybe this was the result of Springer being hit by a pitch. Paul Clemens isn't exactly Roger. Then again could just be teaching your team to stand up for itself. Anyone buying my devils advocate routine here? That there is a chance that the same pitcher didn't hit the same batter on purpose a week later because he missed him the first time?

[MJLiverock]

Had to laugh at this article pointing out the idiocy of baseball's unwritten rules and how people twist themselves in knots to make sense of them. Also a few nice shots at the "Cardinal Way".

 

http://deadspin.com/pine-tar-should-be-fully-legal-and-baseball-is-still-f-1567100538

[Nottso]

The Deadspin piece is hilarious. Thanks for posting it up.