Mr. Ortiz, Just be the huggable, lovable character to play in public, because when it comes to fighting you are really REALLY slow, and couldnt even hit a pitcher who had his glove on. I am afraid you might get knocked out. Concerned Yankee Fan
I'm much more concerned about him getting suspended for 5 games or so. Just kind of dumb on his part to charge the mound. I understand he was pissed as Gregg tried to throw at him 3 times but the Orioles are a joke and have nothing to lose while a freak injury or suspension can really hurt the Red Sox.
I think it is more of Ortiz hates getting pitched inside, and glares at the pitcher most times when he does....he needs to realize that in baseball pitchers will pitch you inside, and just deal with it...of course if you happen to pitch for New York, then they dont.....The last pitch yeah he might have tried to hit him, the first 2 were inside first baseballs.....
Disagree the first two pitches were aimed at him but even so anyone is going to be pissed if a pitcher throws three straight fastballs to back you off the plate. One pitch sure that's fine, I get and understand it but 3 in a row? Seems more like Kevin Gregg sucks are trying to hit someone than simply backing him off the plate.
How do you know that for sure though you dont?......every pitch inside isnt trying to hit somebody, the last one yeah I think he did....but I think a MLB player can hit anybody at anytime......that crap has dated back to when Manny yelled at the guy for what he thought was pitching him in, when the replay showed it was just a high pitch over the middle of the plate....those guy crowd it, every good hitter does, they have to deal with it when it happens is all I am saying.... and that isnt the batters possession of the inside part of the plate, nowhere does it say that, it isnt the batters right to that...so for anybody to get mad at any pitcher pounding any batter hard and inside, that is their problem....hahah go tell that to Nolan Ryan, Bob Gibson or even Eck and see what they say.....
I think it was obvious he was trying to hit Ortiz, when do you ever see a pitcher throw even two straight balls way inside to a hitter to back him off the plate? If he threw just one pitch inside then it would be hard to tell but 2 more come on now. Why would any pitcher go 3-0 on a hitter just to push him off the plate? Honestly I think Gregg was trying to hit Ortiz to send him and the Sox a message and also set up for a double play but he's just not a very good pitcher that he just couldn't hit Ortiz, ditto for Mike Gonzalez, nor really wanted to unload on the pitch in case it got by Wieters then the runner from 3rd would have scored. I have no problem with a pitcher backing a hitter off the plate but when you do it two times in a row it's a little fishy, when you do it three times it's just obvious. Either way it was dumb for Ortiz to go out there and now he'll probably get 5 games at least. It's too bad he just didn't laugh it off like he did with Gonzalez on Sunday.
Ahhh I love this debate, it is like...... 1) Politcs v. Religion 2) Defense v. offense in winning Championships 3) Good Pitchers will always get out hitters v. Hitters will alway hit 4) Batter possess the inside v. Pitchers inside pitching these my friend is what America is founded on!!!!
Thank God, this would have been curtains for the rest of baseball..... http://www.csnne.com/07/11/11/Sourc...anding_redsox.html?blockID=540628&feedID=4020
The only problem is this isn't a debate on batter possess the inside vs. pitchers inside pitching. This is me saying I believe Gregg was trying to hit Ortiz while you think he wasn't until the 3rd pitch. Again I have no problem with a pitcher pushing a batter off the plate, none what so ever. If Gregg threw one pitch inside on Ortiz to push him off that's fine with me, I get it, I understand it. If he throws two in a row then it gets a little fishy and makes you wonder. Once he throws that third pitch inside at him then it becomes way too obvious. If Gregg didn't throw pitch 2 and 3 way inside to Ortiz I wouldn't have thought Gregg was trying to hit him with the first pitch but after pitch 2 and 3 go way inside then yes it leads me to believe it. On the flip side I absolutely think Mike Gonzalez on Sunday was trying to hit Ortiz with a pitch, only he missed and threw it behind him and he didn't deny it after the game.
The rumor never made much sense to begin with anyway. But it's July so we're about to hear tons of them between now and the 31st of both July and August.
It all depends on how much he wants really. If the Sox can sign him for 2 years at 10 million or so I guess it might not be a bad idea especially when you consider the FAs available after this year and who the Red Sox have coming up in their minor league system (Will Middlebrooks is a 3B and is climbing the prospect ladder but he likely won't be ready until 2013 the earliest and by then you can shift Youkilis to the full time DH). I'd offer him 2 years for 20 million total with incentives with a team option or 1 year deal for 14 or 15 million with incentives with a team option and tell him to pick one. Of course with the way DHs are getting paid and the contract length I don't think any team would offer him a 2 year deal unless it's loaded with a lot of incentives. But the obvious risk is he is 36 years old and isn't in the best shape. It's a tough decision for sure though, I guess it will all depend on how he finishes the year there's no reason for the Red Sox to jump to sign him with a half a year left, after all Vlad Guerrero was very good in the first half last year and then didn't do anything once July came. EDIT: Of course part of me wants to keep the DH spot open so you can give guys like Youkilis or Gonzalez a break every once and awhile and with Ortiz there you can't really do that much. The more I think about it, the more I'd rather offer him 1 year deal at a bigger price tag with a mutual option if certainly stats are met than to go with a 2 year deal unless the contract is dirt cheap.
Also I think while some gas left in the tank, I believe that Ortiz has been the biggest benefactor of Gonzo.....I think if he goes on another team, he might not do as well.....Like Vlad is the power source in Balt, and is eh.... Is this Miltons kid...?
Nope not Milton's kid and this is typical agent talk, not worried about this at all. The Sox will sign him by the deadline in August.
I'm actually not looking forward to going to Baltimore for the next 3 days. That team is still pissed the Sox beat them up during the 4 game sweep and Showalter is still running his mouth about how it's not fair now that Guerrero has a broken bone in his hand from getting hit by a pitch from Kyle Weiland. Hopefully no one getting thrown at or hurt in this series as the Sox have way too much to lose, however I do think Baltimore is going to throw at the Sox. I just hope that if that does happen its in the butt and the Sox hitter puts his head down and runs to first base and let the umps take control.
It is baseball as you know, hey if a team takes it like that then there is nothing to change their mind....just get hit and run down the line as you said....Is Papi suspended this series? I would actually say thats a bad thing, because that make Gonzo the prime target..... also heard great news about Lester, said he is on track.....not so great for Clay...
Word is Ortiz and Gregg will be hearing from the MLB offices today about their suspensions. My guess is both are suspended for 3 games each and will have to sit out the Red Sox series but you're right if Ortiz is out of the series that means Gonzalez, Youkilis and possibly Pedroia have targets on their backs now unfortunately. I just read an article in a Baltimore paper and Showalter is whining about Matt Albers pumping his fist after the Red Sox win on Friday night that he closed out. And Showalter was mad because the Sox won 10-4 and he claims Albers celebrated like it was Game 7 of the WS. Really Buck? Geez talk about grasping for anything to hide the fact his managing skills have taken a big hit and the team has been lousy since the second week of the season.
yeah he endorses the "always in the media" philosophy......he has been on this hate of the Yanks/Red Sox thing since the beginning of the season....
I just think it's funny he shot off his mouth about both the Red Sox and Yankees and was getting so much love from the media for it and since the 2nd week of April the team has been awful. Where's this great baseball mind Showalter has now? I realize he doesn't have a ton of talent on the team but he got way too much credit for Baltimore's 2nd half last year. I think this whole thing is Buck's way of trying to pump up his team and to also take everyone's minds off (for now) Baltimore just being a bad team. Also I know someone that works in the Baltimore organization personally and he says that Showalter is extremely overrated in terms of managing. He barely talks to any of the players nor listens to anyone else's ideas and he comes off as "I'm smarter than you are so I don't need your help" attitude.
The thing is, it isnt like they are totally talentless, I mean they have some good players both pitching and batters, so right there it is the managing..... His hate for NY is nothing new, he thought HE never should have been fired in favor of a guy named Joe Torre.....
Showalter's problem is loses the club house because he ends up fighting with veteran players (like Arod in Texas) and the team is forced to make a change. The team he has with Baltimore does have some talent but they're not a good baseball team, especially in the AL East. The problem is instead of downplaying things and being realistic about the team, he got cocky because the team happened to play well when he took over and started to shot his mouth off and now its excuse making time. He brought up the payroll issue everyday when they played the Sox last week, he's great at making excuses that's for sure.
Funny because I think they have some money, they were in on Tex, and again last year, expressed some interest on Werth....It wud be cool if they spent the change on a marquee player....kinda wish they did on Tex a few years ago....
Baltimore has money. They were one of the highest payrolls in the late 90s/early '00s but simply spend their money poorly. Whenever there's a big FA available they usually are linked to Baltimore simply because they have the money to spend. It's not like they're Tampa Bay, Oakland or Cleveland there.
Right but how Fink, their attendance is attrocious, except obviously when the Yanks or Sox come in.... Where is their revenue stream coming from, TV deal? They are willing to spend 100M on somebody that is a large chunk of change you know?
Their attendance is bad because they haven't had a good team since what 1998? I have no clue what their revenue stream is like but they do have the money to spend 100 million dollars on a FA. They're not a small market team by any means. The owner has the money to spend.
Provided that he wants a market deal, or more, because the need for CP's are high.....you want him back Fink? I didnt realize his ERA was that high....
ERA is very misleading (that's usually the case with RPers anyway). Depending on the money sure I'd take him back, he's still a pretty good pitcher and has been doing a much better job mixing up his pitches this year. I wouldn't give him anything bigger than a 2 year deal but 2 years for 24 million sounds fair to me. He'll never take that though. In a perfect world the Sox would offer him artibitration and he'd accept it and they would go year to year with him (that's actually a possiblity because there's going to be tons of closers on the market this off season and Papelbon would make about 12 to 14 million on a 1 year deal).
True.....pitchers want security of a multi-year deal though, 2 years sounds kinda short, I dont think that gets it done.......they are always one pitch away...
Probably not but I think any GM is dumb if they give a RPer a 3 or more year deal, it just screams disaster. I'd rather pay more per year than give a RPer an extra year just like I'd rather give up on a guy 1 year early than 1 year late (or in John Lackey's case 5 years too late).
what do you think Fink, Sox nab him for another highly touted cant miss prospect like Igelias?? and the number "5" from the scoreboard??
I doubt Jimenez goes anywhere. I still don't understand why he's even being shopped in the first place with his contract. Seems to be more gossip than anything.
