Carlos Gomez - Passion or Antics?

[torts]

Watch this video from earlier in the series:

 

http://m.mlb.com/video/v32164555/milpit-tabata-sends-an-rbi-double-to-center-field/?game_pk=380770

 

Are the Pirates being hypocritical turds? I think so....

 

oh absolutely.

 

remember "Beast mode" and everyone flipped out? Pirates have embraced "Z" for Zoltan the last two years, they now do pistols on the hips for big hits and they do the "YES" hand pumps when they hit a homer. but hey, when the brewers did Beast Mode after big hits they were jerks for celebrating too much. baseball has to be the most hypocritical sport when it comes to things like this

[gregmag]

I agree with the prevailing views. To summarize:

 

Carlos is a great player. Carlos appears to be a really good guy. He's passionate; that's great. He shouldn't wig out when he gets confronted, because then he misses games and doesn't get to do his passionate, brilliant thing.

 

The unwritten rules, in general, are moronic, hypocritical, a moral subsidy for the worst sort of people in baseball, and an embarrassment to the sport.

 

In this particular case, Carlos did nothing that warranted a response. He looked at the ball for a split second. He thought it was gone or caught, so he jogged. When he saw it was in play, he ran.

 

Gerrit Cole is a weasel and a crybaby. The fight was 100 percent his fault. He doesn't like losing? Good for him; he's a competitor. So don't lose. If you do lose, shut up and do your job better. Don't take out your inadequacies by jawing at the guy who beat you and then walking away like you have a moral right to be a jerk. How will you explain that to your son?

[JohnBriggs12]

Andrew McCutcheon pantomimes putting guns back in his holster while standing at 2nd base after a double. Nobody says a word to him. Apparently MLB is fine with the gun imagery as well.

 

Unfortunately this latest incident is going to result in suspensions, not just of Gomez but likely for Maldanado too. Will be interesting from the standpoint there's no other catcher on the 40 man.

[fondybrewfan]

The whole " he admired it at home plate" is frickin ridiculous. Albert Pujols does that on every single one. Has anyone ever noticed how long it takes him to get around the bases.

 

A ton of players do the exact same thing as Gomez. No they don't flip their bat but Carlos has done that for basically forever so no one should be surprised by it.

 

If Cole wouldn't have gone out of his way to get offended by Carlos not hustling out of the box and almost getting thrown out we wouldn't be having this conversation. Gomez probably does have a short fuse; but he brings so much excitement it really doesn't bother me at all.

[jerichoholicninja]

Until Gomez tells the pitcher to "suck it" while admiring his homeruns (or triples), the pitcher has nothing to complain about other than the fact that he threw a bad pitch. I can't understand how all these coaches and players take everything so personally.

[DuWayne Steurer]

Until Gomez tells the pitcher to "suck it" while admiring his homeruns (or triples), the pitcher has nothing to complain about other than the fact that he threw a bad pitch. I can't understand how all these coaches and players take everything so personally.

 

 

........while doing a DX style 'crotch chop'.

 

THat would be epic.

[Fear The Chorizo]

I remember Gomez doing the bat flip when he first got to Milwaukee whenever he actually made contact that resulted in line drives/fly balls into the outfield. It never seemed to be a big deal because Gomez was a shell of the offensive player then compared to what he's developed into. Now that those swings are leading to HR and extra base hits, teams are getting their panties in a bundle.

 

Here's a thought - if you don't like it, try to be better at baseball and get him out.

 

I love the way Gomez plays the game - if he's getting under opponents' skin it's because he's become a quality player and he's winning games for the Brewers. I think Sunday's fracas had more to do with the Pirates' frustration of winning 1 of 6 (at the time, now 1 of 7) games against the Crew, and Gomez's antics just triggered things. Most of these games played over a short span of time could've gone either way, and the fact that the Brewers took 6 of 7 definitely helped make the Pirates extra red-assed and agitated.

[Warning Track Power]

Until Gomez tells the pitcher to "suck it" while admiring his homeruns (or triples), the pitcher has nothing to complain about other than the fact that he threw a bad pitch. I can't understand how all these coaches and players take everything so personally.

 

 

........while doing a DX style 'crotch chop'.

 

THat would be epic.

This should be the 2014 Brewers answer to the Pirates "pistols" except instead of directing it back to the Brewers dugout, turn directly to the opposing dugout and do it.

 

Can't wait for Gomez to jack one out, not run and stand and home plate and do this.

[azcheesehead]

I personally think he should tweet McCann and Cole and ask them what he should do next time he hits a bomb. When they respond "act like you've done it before," he can keep sprinting around the bases and watching his shots for .5 seconds.

 

In other words, this whole thing is incredibly stupid. Grow up, MLB.

[SoupTown]

I wish Gomez would stay on third base when he hits a triple.

I wish Gomez would run fast on all his hits, until they actually clear the fence.

I wish Gomez would not do anything that leads to him or other team mates being suspended.

 

I don't care what other teams do or don't do (admiring, pistols, crotch scratching, whatever)

 

It does confuse me when Gomez acts like a three year old in response to Cole (and the likes of McCann) acting like 2 year olds.

[bjkrautk]

Elite athletes are high-strung; it's a mostly-accepted part of getting themselves into the mindset to compete at such a high level.

 

Baseball players who "take offense" to the way the other team is playing tend to be projecting some of that anxiety on the outsider. Pittsburgh is being dominated by Milwaukee right now; they're 1-6 against the Brewers, which is almost entirely the difference in the standings between the two clubs. The Braves incident last year came as Atlanta was playing bad baseball going into the playoffs.

 

It's no different than plunking the next batter after a HR; it's an act of frustration after public failure. While certain players - like Gomez or Nyjer Morgan - are likely to draw the focus because of their style of play, the reaction is always disproportionate to the offense....because the actor is blowing off steam.

[azcheesehead]

I don't think this has been posted yet, but here is what was written in bucsdugout. The quotes are pretty good, some of which are new to me. The comments, however.....

 

http://www.bucsdugout.com/2014/4/20/5634698/postgame-reaction-carlos-gomez-blames-travis-snider-for-brawl

[reillymcshane]

Personally, I don't care what teams or players do (pistols, beast mode, admiring HRs, etc.). However, Carlos screwed up a couple of times yesterday.

 

First, you have plenty of time to admire your hit once it clears the fence. If I'm the team, I'm pissed at him because he may have cost us a run. Had he taken off right away, he has a chance at an inside the park HR. We burned five extra innings of relievers yesterday - had we won the game in regulation, we wouldn't have had to do that.

 

Second, don't be a baby. Someone says something to you don't like? Someone calls you a name? So you freak out? Get real. Just ignore them. Move on. Be satisfied that you're getting under their skin. Your inability to control your emotions in those situations hurts your team. Gomez will get suspended - thanks a lot. That hurts the team. Maldonado will likely be suspended. Again, that hurts the team. And what if someone had got hurt? What if Maldonado had broken his hand? It's just plain stupid to let something like that escalate.

 

Again, I don't really care if Gomez or Pujols or anyone likes to admire their HRs or pump their fists after a good play. But when their actions - and inability to control their temper - hurts the team - that's just stupid.

 

I'm certainly not defending the Pirates in this situation. They were idiots too. But Carlos could have defused the situation just by ignoring it. Now it's going to cost the team.

[TooLiveBrew]

Chipper Jones doesn't like Carlos Gomez either, I called him out on it. He didn't like it.

 

This was my tweet in the article.

 

http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2014/04/20/chipper-jones-chimed-in-on-the-carlos-gomez-incident/comment-page-2/#comment-690854

That was awesome. And I'd be willing to bet that, somewhere over his career of 10,000+ PAs, Chipper did the exact same thing as Carlos.

[Thurston Fluff]

This is not the same thing as last season. The incident with McCann was far more on Gomez than this one is. He was talking all the way around the bases deliberately showing up the pitcher. I should add there was a history there. That pitcher had hit Gomez a couple times prior to that which is why he was doing what he did. But in that moment he was specifically showing up the pitcher and McCann acted on that. Which is why he accepted the penalty without appealing it and apologized for his actions afterward. This time I don't think the pitcher even crossed his mind. He hit the ball flipped his bat as he watched it for a fraction of a second and was to busy running the bases to even think about showing up anyone. I didn't see the hit at the time but did afterward. I didn't really see the big deal Cole made out of it. Let alone Snider. Seems to me they just let 1-5 frustration get in their head a little. Unfortunately since he did what he did last season nobody is going to give him the benefit of a doubt this time.

[brwrsfan]

That Tabata video is pretty similar. Both did a bat flip. Gomez stood and watched his, while Tabata kinda moved a few feet, but definitely watching the ball before he took off running. Honestly, put them side by side and there's just not much different.

 

Oh, and Tabata's ball didn't leave the yard either. I didn't see any Brewers act like whiney little girls about it.

 

And Chipper Jones really just needs to shut up. You're not involved in any way, why open your mouth? And BS about the admiring stuff. In his whole career, there had to be balls that he thought he crushed and watched, only to have it not leave the yard.

[MadScientist]

I'm not a big fan of batters watching, but that is where the league has gone. It does look a little dumb when the ball doesn't go out, although he was claiming he thought it would be an out. The big problem is Gomez's reaction to what the pitcher said, especially if the pitcher's post game comments were an accurate description. Thanks to Gomez's reaction, both he and Maldonado are likely to be suspended for multiple games. When his antics hurt the team, they have to be stopped.

[Dragonbait]

There's a decent article on ESPN (wow... that just sounds weird) by David Schoenfield....

 

That’s what made this brawl interesting. It didn’t result from the usual issue of pitching inside or hitting a batter or Brian McCann getting upset, but from Carlos Gomez hitting a triple.

 

*bolded for humor

[reillymcshane]

There's a decent article on ESPN (wow... that just sounds weird) by David Schoenfield....

 

That’s what made this brawl interesting. It didn’t result from the usual issue of pitching inside or hitting a batter or Brian McCann getting upset, but from Carlos Gomez hitting a triple.

 

*bolded for humor

I actually like Schoenfield. His Sweetspot blog is the best thing over there.

[torts]

http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/carlos-gomez-gerrit-cole-altercation-shows-how-baseball-must-evolve-042014

 

If Gomez’s story sounds familiar, it should. Replace “Carlos Gomez” with “Yasiel Puig” or “Jose Fernandez,” and the basic theme holds true: A Latin American-born player has become a star in the major leagues, and he’s supposed to “tone down” his celebrations and remove the individuality from his game because “we don’t do that here.”

 

Well . . . why not? Because baseball’s playing, coaching, executive and media establishments don’t remember Joe DiMaggio pimping his home runs? Why do the old unwritten rules apply when there has been such profound change in the demographics of those playing — and watching — the game?

[FVBrewerFan]

I guess I'm in the extreme minority, but I grew up accepting the unwritten rules of baseball. All the antics are what I hate about the NFL and NBA. Every pass in the NFL there's jawing between the WR and CB. A LB can stick someone after a 4 yard gain and beat his chest and run around. I hate that stuff.

 

Frankly, it's something I always thought MLB had going for it. Players and Managers self-police all the BS. Benching a guy for not running to first, brushing someone off the plate if they did a bat flip in a previous AB, etc. However, I do think it has got a bit of control, I will grant you that. When a team isn't supposed to bunt in the FIRST INNING, there's no unwritten ruke about that.

 

I don't like the bat flips, staring down a HR too long, etc. This is a slippery slope to where guys start doing all kinds of crazy antics. And yes, I do think the Brewers draw the ire of opposing teams and media moreso than other teams for some reason.

 

There is a downside. Maybe umps subconsciously (or otherwise) just don't like the Brewers and it has an effect on ablls and strikes. Can never be proven, and maybe would never happen but I think it's possible. Not to mention putting yourself and your teammates at risk of getting drilled with a pitch and getting injured.

 

Look, many of you have already said it. If Gomez (or Plush) was on the Cardinals you would hate him. That pretty much tells you the stuff he's doing is not called for. With all that said, it doesn't bother me that much- at least not yet.

[CheezWizHed]

When a team isn't supposed to bunt in the FIRST INNING, there's no unwritten rule about that.

 

But evidently there was... That is the problem with unwritten rules. No one knows all of them because they aren't written... or made up as you feel "slighted."

[FVBrewerFan]

When a team isn't supposed to bunt in the FIRST INNING, there's no unwritten rule about that.

 

But evidently there was... That is the problem with unwritten rules. No one knows all of them because they aren't written... or made up as you feel "slighted."

 

Sure, there are times when people will diasgree, and take things too far. I acknowledged that. That's not to say unwritten rules don't exist. They exist in the NFL and NBA too. For that matter, they exist in our every day lives. If antics in MLS weren't held in-check, what's next? Yo strikes someone out, then makes the "back to the dugout for you" gesture? Or Braun hits HR, and pulls some sort of prop he has hiddeen under his cap? That stuff gets out of control fast if it's not nipped in the bud.

[brwrsfan]

Cole definitely swore at Gomez, you can hear it in the Pirates broadcast of the fight. Either he's lying or doesn't remember but he definitely dropped an F bomb. And Gomez gets up saying "what" like he maybe misheard or something. And then Snider started the fight.

 

Gomez needs to keep his cool, but we have no idea what was said or what he heard. There are certainly things that I certainly would react to regardless of the situation.

[MJLiverock]

Pitchers getting upset at batters for how they run, stare, toss a bat, etc. are quite possibly the most childish act in any sport. All it is is an excuse to vent frustrations at giving a long ball or hard hit. If baseball truly wants to send a message start suspending pitchers for acting like spoiled toddlers when they give up a big fly.