We live in an age of impunity. Failure to behave people, especially the most influential people responsible for their actions, creates a sense of invincibility and encourages further misbehavior. The exceptions are big news, but in so many dimensions of American society, scandal after scandal continues to unfold in the open. I hope so, but don’t expect today’s Mariners-Angels game to be one of the exceptions.
Today’s drama actually started last night with an unlikely source: Eric Swanson. Swansea was dynamite this year. Entering last night, he hit 27 for 18.1 innings, while allowing only one walk and not hitting without hitting. Here’s what his terrain diagram looks like for these 18.1 innings:
For whatever reason, he didn’t have his command last night. Here’s what the terrain diagram for this outing looks like:
That point at the top left would have hit Mike Trout in the helmet if Trout hadn’t gotten out of the way, which, it is worth noting, he did.
As you can see from the video, this pitch came in the ninth inning of a two-run game with a leveling run on the plate, not in the middle of the stroke. Sometimes the boys lose their command. And although the pitch in question was the first and only time Swanson drastically missed inside, Mike Trout had some choice words about it after the game.
Given the situation with the game, it was obviously not intentional, so I don’t know what he’s talking about with “if you’re going to hit me, hit me in the ribs.” And as for the attack on the unmanned release, well, given that it was Eric Swanson and not, say, Johan Ramirez, my answer to just that quote is this:
Keep in mind that this is the same team that Shohei Ohtani plays – the person who dances outside the box and gives a look “can you believe it” every time there is a field in the inner half of the plate. Like last night:
Now, to be honest, maybe Trout was so worried because his teammate was hit in the head the last time these teams played against each other. I believe we have a video for this.
Oh, yes, that’s right. Justin Upton is playing for the Mariners now, and Mike Trout’s Angels were the ones who hit his head. However, for some reason the Angels were not happy with this strange quote about Trout. Rather, this morning there was news of a surprise decision by Angels manager Phil Nevin. Although Anaheim had previously announced that Jose Suarez would start today’s match, he decided to use Andrew Vanz as a discoverer before bringing Suarez. The press immediately understood what was happening, as in the show before the match there was speculation that there would be a small bean.
From the moment I entered Angels Stadium this morning, it was clear that there would be a battle. Even the fans and employees talked about it. If the judges didn’t know, that’s absolutely ridiculous. I adjust the noise, but the context is important.
– Jen Müller (@JenTalksSports) June 27, 2022
And that’s exactly what they did, fulfilling manager Phil Nevin’s plan to throw Julio’s first pitch behind his head. Unfortunately, there were no pushes. You see, no “warnings” have been issued. In MLB, the first team to throw a battery gets free. You may remember from the iconic video in which Tom Halian said his ass was in the jackpot, the reason the Mets were so upset that Halion threw now-Angel Noah Cindergaard for deliberately throwing a battery is because he is not a warning was issued.
This is, and I don’t say it lightly, the dumbest thing about Major League Baseball. In my opinion, beans have no place in sports at all, and when the intention is clear, someone must be thrown and removed. I accept that not everyone agrees with this. But even if you don’t, how is the status quo problem not obvious? If you give a free pass to the instigators, you leave the victims defenseless. If the Sailors wanted revenge on the Angels who deliberately threw at Julio, the Sailors would be punished. As I said, we live in an age of impunity.
Don’t miss Grant’s superb piece about choosing Angels to throw at Julio, which I wouldn’t want to be buried since it was published between today’s three threads of the game.
After the throw against Julio, the referees issued warnings and the game continued on its merry way. Marco Gonzalez directed his half of the inning as a professional athlete, leading Wantz back to the mound. But then things really derailed.
Dissatisfied with Julio’s throw, the Angels threw Jesse Winker on the first court of the inning, and Wantz was apparently ordered to throw at the Mariners’ attackers until he was thrown. Winker was clearly upset, but his immediate reaction was quite reasonable, considering everything. Not only were they not happy that they had thrown both Julio and Winker – again for no good reason – the Angels also felt the need to get out of the dugout on the field and shout at Winker. Why? Who to say; they are the ones who threw it. But that was clearly part of the plan again: the first angel to come out of the dugout was Anthony Rendon, who was in IL for the season, thus immune from damaging his team’s chances of winning by being kicked out.
The fight was long, extensive and real. It wasn’t a quarrel that everyone was standing around talking about. There was real violence, with dozens of players and staff (Angels) inflicting real blows. Several separate rounds of fighting broke out.
Of course, the sailors have committed sins here as well. Jesse Winker had to keep going to first base, even though he was mocked. And when he finally returned to the dugout, he pushed away the crowd, which he said he regretted. It should be noted, however, that the crowd chanted “Let’s go angels” during the fight. And JP Crawford obviously threw up his hands. You didn’t have to. But I think his actions are somewhat mitigated, because I think they were all aimed at different angels who were currently engaged in hitting other sailors. To be explicit, mitigation is not the same thing as an excuse.
When the battle was finally over, something strange happened.
I have no explanation for this. I knew it was funny right now, but I wasn’t ready to laugh at him. It’s been a long time since I’ve giggled while embedding the tweet. As Dave Sims would say during one of the different moments, he summed up the fight: “Oh, you’re such a bastard. Go away, someone! ”
Unfortunately, there were no significant injuries. But pushes inevitably followed. For the angels: Manager Phil Nevin and the relievers Vanz, Tepera and Iglesias. For the Sailors: Manager Scott Servais and the only healthy, competent strikers in the team Crawford, Winker and Julio. Four throws each you see because both sides. As I said, we live in an age of impunity.
I whined about this squad before Seattle’s best strikers were sent off. But after? Well, as one of my earliest baseball influences, Anglea, said, “How will they evaluate the refereeing advantage of the referee cards in this one?”
After the game, Julio told reporters he was confused about why he was sent off for not fighting, and crew chief Adrian Johnson told Daniel Kramer, “This will be in the Major League Baseball incident report, which I think.” is an oops bureaucrat.
What will happen to the judges for their actions, including not expelling Wantz and Nevin after throwing Julio in the first place? Almost certainly nothing. As I said, we live in an age of impunity.
Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports
As for the players and coaches, the subtractions decided the issue of the match, but there are additional consequences. And they are needed. More than two years ago, Commissioner Rob Manfred told ESPN:
This is a really dangerous, really dangerous undertaking and … we will issue a memorandum on strikes on the ground, which will increase the consequences of this type of behavior. It’s just not appropriate to express any frustration you may have … by putting someone physically at risk by throwing it away. It is simply not acceptable.
These comments were made in the context of the possibility of teams throwing against Astros in 2020 because they cheated and did not face the consequences of the League. As I said, we live in an age of impunity.
It is now up to Manfred to keep his word. I, for one, will not be satisfied with anything less than a permanent MLB ban on Phil Nevin. This was not a case in which some players with red asses let their emotions prevail over them. It was a preconceived plan executed by the man who had to be responsible for stopping this kind of thing. He is the one who pulled Suarez. He did not even express remorse, as can be seen from his comments after the match:
I just listened to Nevin’s post-match press conference. He said he was proud of his team and how they struggled through the difficulties and he is even more proud today.
He also said twice that these things can happen when two teams face each other 8 times in 10 days.
– Shannon Dreyer (@shannondrayer) June 27, 2022
If your child was playing on their high school baseball team and the opponent’s coach ordered a pitcher to start throwing at your child, what do you think should happen? This has absolutely no place in baseball. No matter how badly the Mariners play, no matter how cheap John Stanton gets, I will continue to watch and be a fan because I love baseball. But the repeated failure to clarify significant consequences for the aggressors is …
Add Comment