Anyone else see the White Sox - Cubs brawl today?

[KitchenWitch]

That shit was off the hook!

[Placebo]

1. Cubs suck!

They fight dirty.

[KitchenWitch]

2. I like the Cubs

But I am inclined to agree with you about them fighting dirty after today's brawl. AJ Pierzynski was trying to get his helmet when Michael Barrett clocked him.

[Blue_Tires]

5. i won't say who's at fault one way or the other, but i will say this:

AJ Pierzynski had that shit coming to him (for a long ass time, too--he's still due a couple more before he breaks even with the house)

[Placebo]

13. Absolutely.

Why AJ was ejected from the game I'll never know. He was the one who GOT punched, he didn't instigate it!

[KitchenWitch]

15. I have to qualify things by stating that I am an AJ fan

from when he was with the Twins.

[Deja Q]

3. And not in a good way!

Since when is fighting clean? :D

[Placebo]

11. I WISH in THAT good way!

Some of them are mighty fine, mmm... :9

[Suich]

4. Between the brawl and Barbaro,

sports sorta sucked today!

:hi:

[KitchenWitch]

6. Barbaro's injury made me sad

And I am not into horse racing at all!

[Suich]

7. It made me cry.

I watch the big races on TV but that's about it.

To see that happen to such a fantastic horse is awful.

[Oeditpus Rex]

8. The occasional brawl is good for baseball

They can light a fire under a ball club, and there's no way you can tell me fans don't love 'em.

But Major League Baseball wishes they'd go away. :eyes:

[reyd reid reed]

9. PUBLICLY

Major League Baseball wishes they'd go away. If they really wanted to stop it entirely, they could.

But they won't.

Because yeah...every once in a while the fans love 'em. See how many people leave to go to the concessions or to the bathroom when the benches clear.

[JohnKleeb]

10. From what I've heard Bartlett glocked Pierzyenki because

he didn't take too kindly to getting rammed over. I really could careless about either team since my team couldn't beat the frigging Nationals but it looked like it wsa Cub provoked.

[KitchenWitch]

12. Yes Pierzynski slid in HARD

but that did not warrant Pierzynski being clocked for it.

[Oeditpus Rex]

14. Pierzynski put a legit hit on him

Looked to me like Barrett over-reacted. But maybe those two have a history. I dunno, so I'm not gonna judge.

And anyway, it's baseball. It ain't for mollycoddles.

But it wasn't a "sucker punch," as someone implied in another thread.

[JohnKleeb]

17. I thought it was the whole rivalry thing

Yeah it's baseball, yep.

[Oeditpus Rex]

18. Could be, I suppose

But a good rivalry needs to fester, and the Cubs and Sox don't play each other enough for that to happen.

Pierzynski was in the NL last year (Giants), so maybe it started there. :shrug:

[CPMaz]

19. From ESPN.com

"Barrett said Pierzynski had every right to run into him, but added that the White Sox's catcher -- who always seems to be in the middle of wild plays -- got up and nudged him after the collision, instead of heading toward his dugout"

I was busy today, and didn't see the game live, but ESPN.com has the replay. It looked like Pierzynski put a clean hit on Barrett, but then showboated by slapping the plate and running his mouth the whole time. And then when they were getting up after the collision, AJ ran too close too Barrett, while still yapping. At which point, Barrett slugged him.

Can't say I approve of Barrett's reaction, but the options for dealing with Pierzynski were limited - ignore it, hit him, or have his pitcher hit Pierzynski (or another White Sox player.) Ignoring it wouldn't have changed anything, and having the pitcher do it only gets the pitcher tossed and opens up his own teammates for retaliation. Barrett's direct response, while not 'good' per se, was the best of a number of bad options.

On a side note, many players have reps as jerks to fans, but are also known as good or ok teammates (think Bonds or Kenny Rogers); Pierzynski is almost universally despised by teammates and opponents alike. This may have been inevitable.

[Nailzberg]

20. The best thing would have been for Rich Hill to plunk a batter.

Barrett contributes more to the team than Rich Hill. That guy should be pitching for the Lansing Lugnuts.

[Nailzberg]

16. Barrett should spend his upcoming suspension in the bating cages.

Maybe next time he can try connecting on a hit when he's BATTING.

AJ is generally one of the most disliked players in baseball, but that doesn't excuse Barrett. You block the plate, you get run over. Even Dusty Baker knew Barrett blew his cool. In the postgame interview, he said in regards to AJ's hard slide, "To me that's baseball."