OAKLAND -- Rangers second baseman Rougned Odor understands he is facing a suspension but said he has no regrets about what happened during his eighth-inning altercation with Blue Jays outfielder Jose Bautista during Sunday's 7-6 win.
"It's part of the game," Odor said.
<-- His suspension should get just a couple of extra games for that quote because he couldn't make it more obvious that he has no clue about where the line is...simply put: punching people on the chin is NOT part of the game and if you think so, the league might better give you an extended period of time to rethink your position.
They try to reduce the injury risk with the new slide rules and the rules about homeplate collision, but this idiot thinks punching people on the chin is ok...could have easily ended up with a broken jaw on that crap. At the same time they try to protect infielders/catchers more, people still think that throwing 90+ mph fastballs at a guys knees, hip or upper body is fair game for some violation of unwritten rules...I get it that it's hard to prove intent, but if they want to protect their players, that should be the first thing to look at. If you don't like someone flipping his bat after hitting a HR or admiring his moonshot into the seats, do a better job for gods sake and throw better pitches....but extensive celebration or even showboating shouldn't make throwing intentionally at some make acceptable behavior. Even less so if you consider coaches & players telling us all the time, that even the best pitchers can have a pitch get away and off target a couple of inch. So aiming at somebodys upper body or back could also end up in hitting someone in the head....
"It's part of the game," Odor said.
<-- His suspension should get just a couple of extra games for that quote because he couldn't make it more obvious that he has no clue about where the line is...simply put: punching people on the chin is NOT part of the game and if you think so, the league might better give you an extended period of time to rethink your position.
They try to reduce the injury risk with the new slide rules and the rules about homeplate collision, but this idiot thinks punching people on the chin is ok...could have easily ended up with a broken jaw on that crap. At the same time they try to protect infielders/catchers more, people still think that throwing 90+ mph fastballs at a guys knees, hip or upper body is fair game for some violation of unwritten rules...I get it that it's hard to prove intent, but if they want to protect their players, that should be the first thing to look at. If you don't like someone flipping his bat after hitting a HR or admiring his moonshot into the seats, do a better job for gods sake and throw better pitches....but extensive celebration or even showboating shouldn't make throwing intentionally at some make acceptable behavior. Even less so if you consider coaches & players telling us all the time, that even the best pitchers can have a pitch get away and off target a couple of inch. So aiming at somebodys upper body or back could also end up in hitting someone in the head....
if he misses? he probably gets one game and everybody assumes he missed on purpose
but he connected, big time, so much so the league has to be tough on him
one player suspended 8 games, the other not
MLB didn't see it as a fight, the suspensions would have to be different, they did say Odor was being suspended for "punching" Bautista (FWIW)
MLB didn't see it as a fight, the suspensions would have to be different, they did say Odor was being suspended for "punching" Bautista (FWIW)
http://calltothepen.com/2016/10/06/texas-rangers-dont-believe-odor-that-bautista-brawl-is-in-past/[h=1]Texas Rangers: Don’t Believe Odor That Bautista Brawl Is in Past[/h]
by Steve Contursi<time datetime="2016-10-06 3:00 pm">1 hour ago</time>Follow @SteveContursi
The old saying that if it walks like a duck and talks like a duck, then it’s a duck rings true in any discussion about the brand of baseball that the Toronto Blue Jays play these days. And for many, they are fast becoming the team that you love to hate as the playoffs move forward.
They’ve been known for bat flips when they receive an intentional walk. They have a starting pitcher who screams at a batter to get off the field after he strikes them out. And they generally carry a swagger onto the field that suggests, “Go on, just do something to set me off. Go on, do it.”<!-- sharethrough_1__desktop -->
So it comes with a bit of skepticism when Texas Rangers second baseman Rougned Odor, who landed the punch heard ’round the world on Jose Bautista earlier this year, tells MLB.com that, “It’s in the past already. I don’t worry about that. I just worry about today and tomorrow. We’re just trying to play how we play and try to win this series.”
Well, that could very well be wishful thinking on Odor’s part. But it doesn’t seem likely that the Blue Jays, and especially Bautista, would be likely to forgive and forget. And if they did, they wouldn’t be a duck anymore and that’s not likely to happen.[h=4][/h]
For the most part, the Mets were able to move beyond “the slide” that broke the leg of their shortstop last year. But the Blue Jays have been playing with a flair all season and they are not likely to change their ways now just because it’s the playoffs and the whole world of baseball is watching. It just doesn’t work that way.
Add to that, we have Elvis Andrus insisting that “It’s easy to say that (things will be calm) right now, but during the game anything can happen. I think it’s going to bring a lot more excitement to the games. There’s probably going to be a lot of rules before every game, but it’s baseball, man. That’s the beauty of this. We’re ready to go. We’re not going to stop playing the way we play.”
So don’t expect the Rangers to back down either. We can be sure that Joe Torre and other suits from MLB have met with the umpires scheduled to call the games. The message delivered would be very terse: “Don’t take any crap and don’t let things get out of hand.”But having said that, you don’t toss players from a playoff game like you might during the regular season. And it all comes down to the managers and players policing themselves.
</section>
by Steve Contursi<time datetime="2016-10-06 3:00 pm">1 hour ago</time>Follow @SteveContursi
The old saying that if it walks like a duck and talks like a duck, then it’s a duck rings true in any discussion about the brand of baseball that the Toronto Blue Jays play these days. And for many, they are fast becoming the team that you love to hate as the playoffs move forward.
They’ve been known for bat flips when they receive an intentional walk. They have a starting pitcher who screams at a batter to get off the field after he strikes them out. And they generally carry a swagger onto the field that suggests, “Go on, just do something to set me off. Go on, do it.”<!-- sharethrough_1__desktop -->
So it comes with a bit of skepticism when Texas Rangers second baseman Rougned Odor, who landed the punch heard ’round the world on Jose Bautista earlier this year, tells MLB.com that, “It’s in the past already. I don’t worry about that. I just worry about today and tomorrow. We’re just trying to play how we play and try to win this series.”
Well, that could very well be wishful thinking on Odor’s part. But it doesn’t seem likely that the Blue Jays, and especially Bautista, would be likely to forgive and forget. And if they did, they wouldn’t be a duck anymore and that’s not likely to happen.[h=4][/h]
For the most part, the Mets were able to move beyond “the slide” that broke the leg of their shortstop last year. But the Blue Jays have been playing with a flair all season and they are not likely to change their ways now just because it’s the playoffs and the whole world of baseball is watching. It just doesn’t work that way.
Add to that, we have Elvis Andrus insisting that “It’s easy to say that (things will be calm) right now, but during the game anything can happen. I think it’s going to bring a lot more excitement to the games. There’s probably going to be a lot of rules before every game, but it’s baseball, man. That’s the beauty of this. We’re ready to go. We’re not going to stop playing the way we play.”
So don’t expect the Rangers to back down either. We can be sure that Joe Torre and other suits from MLB have met with the umpires scheduled to call the games. The message delivered would be very terse: “Don’t take any crap and don’t let things get out of hand.”But having said that, you don’t toss players from a playoff game like you might during the regular season. And it all comes down to the managers and players policing themselves.
</section>
Big day for Joey Bats
