Here’s To Kevin Gregg, and Here’s To a Sign of Life
Perhaps the thing I love most about baseball is the game’s capacity to remind us of itself. To remind us that, no matter how much we think we’ve figured it out, there’s always something else waiting.
Take last night’s brawl between the Orioles and the Red Sox. If we had taken bets before the game on which Oriole would finally say “enough is enough”, how many of you would have said Kevin Gregg? Exactly. Yet there he was, giving David Ortiz a taste of what he ought to get a hell of a lot more often than he does. Old-school baseball.
I know the game has changed. I know we’ll never again see a career-ending home plate collision in an All-Star game a la Pete Rose and Ray Fosse. I know we’ll never see a pitcher go to the mound intending to hit every batter he faces (RIP, Dock Ellis). But we still need a little bit of that attitude, especially when things look as bleak as they have for the Orioles lately.
There’s always a chance that last night’s brawl was more than just a brawl. Maybe we’ll be able to look back on it a few weeks down the road as the moment when the O’s shook themselves out of the funk. But even if a brawl is just a brawl — even if they lose 8-4 tonight and look every bit as listless as they have — that’s OK. They gave me something to cheer for last night, and in doing so reminded me why I love the game and why, if I give up, it’s my loss.
God willing, one day we will be able to say, “Remember when the Red Sox owned the shit out of the Orioles? Not anymore.” I want to get to that point so bad it hurts.
Meanwhile, I feel bad for saying a couple entries ago that Zach Britton was probably the next guy where we say, “What happened to his sinker.. what happened to his control”. Well, now we are and I almost feel responsible.
BUT – the kid had some encouraging words:
“Hopefully, we can start playing some good baseball the next two days and it starts with the starting pitchers,” Britton said. “We kind of got to pull our head out of our [butts] and start pitching because otherwise we are not going to be here very long. So it’s really frustrating. You can make excuses all you want, ‘this is only my first year, I’ve only faced them twice,’ but at the end of the day pitching is pitching and we had to do something right to get to this level and obviously I’m not doing it right now.” (baltimore sun)
Well, at least it took the attention off what the Sox radio announcers called an embarassing first inning …. I was on the way to the Cape and they were continually describing routine grounders that suddenly found their way to the outfield.
Anyway, this is Gregg’s third ejection, think he needs a little anger management? Perhaps he and the Bosox’ Lackey can take some time off together.
Keep up the good work as always, and hopefully, we all have a NFL season in the near future.
Kevin Gregg sitcks it to the Sox
Hines Ward gets a DUI
Tomorrow…Sidney Crosby and Kyle Singler come out of the closet together
Would someone like to explain to me
A) Why Ortiz wasn’t tossed when he originally approached the mound?
B) Why Gregg was tossed before Ortiz?
C) Why it’s July and Chris Tillman, Brian Matusz and Zach Britton are pitching in the minors?
D) How John Lackey can drill Nick Markakis AND Derrek Lee in the same inning and, after Friday night, not get tossed?
E) How, after 14 years, everything is still breaking wrong for the birds?
kar·ma
[kahr-muh]
–noun
1.
Hinduism, Buddhism . action, seen as bringing upon oneself inevitable results, good or bad, either in this life or in a reincarnation: in hinduism one of the means of reaching Brahman. Compare bhakti ( def. 1 ) , jnana.
2.
Theosophy . the cosmic principle according to which each person is rewarded or punished in one incarnation according to that person’s deeds in the previous incarnation.
3.
fate; destiny.
4.
the good or bad emanations felt to be generated by someone or something.
sorry but this really feels like the ACTUAL answer.
Miles wrote:
A) It’s the Red Sox
B) It’s the Red Sox
C) It’s the Orioles
D) It’s the Red Sox
E) It’s the Orioles
Guys… I’m starting to think pain hurts.
If the season ended today, Matt Wieters and JJ Hardy would be ‘Type A’ free agents. Guts, Mark Reynolds, and Luke Scott are ‘Type B’.
Food for thought, especially given the Hardy contract talks.
If the Orioles fuck this up, I’m through.
http://www.tulsaworld.com/sportsextra/highschool/article.aspx?subjectid=229&articleid=20110627_229_0_Owasso89480
I’m glad MLB recognized the Buck/Gonzalez bullshit during Sunday’s game.
Friday was what it was, but I didn’t expect that from Buck by the time Sunday rolled around.