I still say Cueto was literally pushed off the field into the stands, a huge x-factor in terms of safety, and I totally understand his reaction.
I still say Cueto was literally pushed off the field into the stands, a huge x-factor in terms of safety, and I totally understand his reaction.
"Don't trust any statistics you did not fake yourself."--Winston Churchill
Disagree.
* Being pushed into the stands is not reason to use metal spikes as a weapon. (reference Marichial-Roseboro)
* Kicking is not manly.
* As that night's starting pitcher (and still in the game), you have no business being out there during a scrum. I call that common sense.
MLB needs a new rule (like the NBA). You leave the dugout or leave the general area of your position in the field during a blowup, then you pay the price. 5 game suspension and a big fine for any individual guilty of this. Lose enough guys to not field a team... then you become a triple AAA team for 5 games. There is absolutely ZERO REASON for baseball brawls.
* Being pushed into the stands is not reason to use metal spikes as a weapon. (reference Marichial-Roseboro)
Sure it is. The stands is an uncontrolled environment. Very dangerous. And let me ask you this: in the position he was in, what other options did he have? He was put on his back.
* Kicking is not manly.
Um, ok... but that still doesn't deal with my point that what Cueto did was understandable.
* As that night's starting pitcher (and still in the game), you have no business being out there during a scrum. I call that common sense.
Scrums don't make sense in the first place, for any player. Nothing ever happens, except sometimes players get hurt. Larue was going after a player who was on his back in the stands. Look at the picture. Now that's unwise.
"Don't trust any statistics you did not fake yourself."--Winston Churchill
During my 18 years I came to bat almost 10,000 times. I struck out about 1,700 times and walked maybe 1,800 times. You figure a ballplayer will average about 500 at bats a season. That means I played seven years without ever hitting the ball. ~Mickey Mantle, 1970
I guess it is safe to say (I cannot believe I am saying that on RZ! lol) that Cueto's kicking was not the same as Chuck or the MMA guys.
If anyone is willing to compare Johnny's kicking to Chuck or MMA kicking, then no argument from me... b/c there is no sense in arguing such a thing!
During my 18 years I came to bat almost 10,000 times. I struck out about 1,700 times and walked maybe 1,800 times. You figure a ballplayer will average about 500 at bats a season. That means I played seven years without ever hitting the ball. ~Mickey Mantle, 1970
Can't penalize guys for leaving the bench, otherwise it would be 9 vs 1.
I likes me a little bad blood. Puts a nasty edge to the games.
In the words of Tanner Boyle, "Hey Yankees... you can take your apology and your trophy and shove 'em straight up your ___!"
She used to wake me up with coffee ever morning
During my 18 years I came to bat almost 10,000 times. I struck out about 1,700 times and walked maybe 1,800 times. You figure a ballplayer will average about 500 at bats a season. That means I played seven years without ever hitting the ball. ~Mickey Mantle, 1970
Looks like they've spit that bad blood up on themselves once again.
Baseball is like church. Many attend, few understand
I have mixed emotions about it. If Cueto was out there as a peacemaker ... but got caught in the herd, thrown back into the net/stands and suddenly found himself on his back, I can somewhat understand his reaction. He felt he needed to protect himself and throwing fists was not going to be effective in that situation.
But if he was out there talking crap and got tossed back into the net ... and his reaction was to kick like that, I'm not really OK with it. He could have held his spikes/legs up to protect himself without flailing them at LaRue.
Now, who knows what LaRue was doing/saying. As much as he pretended not to be, LaRue had a little punk in him. There are many examples, but one is treating Dave Ross like a jerk because Ross had the audacity to out-play LaRue and steal playing time from him. So, I could see LaRue being an instigator there and perhaps Cueto was literally fearing for his life when he suddenly found himself on his back (kind of) in the stands all wrapped up in the protective netting. Was Cueto really in severe danger there? No. But when your fight or flight instinct kicks in (no pun intended) then sometimes reason goes out the window. I would like to know exactly the roles Cueto and LaRue played before Cueto actually got tossed back and began kicking like one of those X-Games guys who falls off his bike but still has 30 feet to go before he crashes to the ground.
LaRue is claiming the incident ended his career because he got a concussion over it and doctors told him he shouldn't play (he had previous concussions). So, it's no laughing matter. I wouldn't be surprised if LaRue ends up suing over it, although I hope it doesn't come to that. Plus, LaRue has plenty of money in the bank due to the Reds overpaying him all those years. Compare our catching situation now to the LaRue years. Yikes.
I hope LaRue doesn't sue as well, and I don't think he wiil. I don't think he would have much of a case if he did. Nobody forced him to join the brawl. We all know that players can get hurt when they get involved in a brawl. I'm a little upset that Chris Carpenter joined in, because losing any of you starting pitchers for an extended period of time would hurt any team, and I don't think he had any reason to be out there. I understand wanting to protect your teammates, but let someone else do that. I think that was a role that LaRue was taking. He got hurt doing it. Let's face it though, he is 37 this year. How many catchers are still playing after age 37? I don't know if LaRue would have been playing this year anyways...fight or no fight. Sure, it's easier for him to say that he is retiring because of the fight. That may be part of the reason, but I don't think it's the only reason.
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