draino sports

Before I get started on something that really pissed me off the other day, I want to make it clear to all of the readers out there (which as of now consists of my friend Jeff and i think no one else) that I am a yankees fan. I was born and raised in the great state of New Jersey and taught to the love the Bronx Bombers by my father since i was in diapers. Before you are quick to label me a front runner, keep in mind I was just barely old enough to remember rooting for players like Matt Nokes, Kevin Maas, and Alvaro Espinosa - not exactly the glory days. Also keep in mind, that the past few years the Yanks have produced not much more than mediocre seasons, and early playoff exits - nothing to get too excited about. THAT HAVING BEEN SAID… it is only fair to take any comments I make about the Red Sox with a grain of salt. Obviously I am going to have my biases, but I don’t exactly hope and pray everyday to see something in the news that I can rip on the Bosox for. But alas, that is exactly what happened when Jonathan Papelbon opened his mouth last Wednesday night on a Boston-area sports talk show.

For those of you who missed it, the Red Sox and Rays (only call them the Devil Rays at the risk of suffering greatly) got into a bench clearing brawl as a result of a few plays over the course of two games. Coco Crisp felt a Rays player was blocking the bag at second base, so he decided on his next trip to the bag to slide hard into the Rays second basemen. The Rays took exception to this, and threw at Coco in his first at bat in the next game. Ding ding, round one begins. Punches were thrown, players were suspended, cooler heads eventually prevailed, and the game went on without any further incidents. Just another typical baseball brawl, open and shut case, right? Not if you ask Papelbon. He made several remarks making it very clear that he believes there are more rounds to be fought and this thing is far from over.

“In my opinion, its a bunch of bull what they did. All I gotta say is what goes around comes around, man. Payback’s a bitch.”

First of all, you may have noticed that I left Papelbon out of the synopsis of the plays leading up to this fight - that was not an accident - he had absolutely nothing to do with it. This is a classic case of a guy who is just looking to stir something up, because he gets a kick out of it. The professional thing to do (and that is what he claims to be, a “professional” baseball player) would be to make no comment, or to say “what’s done is done, and let’s move on”. But no, like a 7th grader who didn’t get hugged enough as a child, Papelbon wants to pick another fight. Very classy move.

Second of all, last time I checked, Papelbon is the red sox closer. What exactly does he plan to do? Come into a game in the ninth inning trying to protect a one run lead and throw at the next batter’s head just so he can throw down? Unless he is planning on bum rushing out of the bullpen in the first inning like a rabid beast to tackle B.J. Upton in centerfield, he should realize he has no bearing whatsoever on whether or not this fight will carry over into the next series. Not to mention the fact that he should probably be a little more concerned that the Rays are not exactly buried in the cellar of the AL east like they usually are. He may not want to do anything to light a fire under a young upstart team that is about as hungry for a successful season as any team in baseball.

But you know what, don’t take my word for it that this was a bone head move - take it from Papelbon’s manager Terry Francona. When asked about Papelbon’s comments, Francona sighed and said “I’ll speak to him.” Not many words, but I think everyone got the point - this wasn’t exactly behavior that a manager of any baseball team is going to condone.

Regardless of who you think is right or wrong in this case, I think it’s safe to say we will all be interested to see what happens on the field when these two clubs meet again on June 30th in St. Petersburg. I’d like to think these grown men have put it behind them and will carry on with their business on the field, but I know for sure there will be at least one immature punk waiting behind an outfield wall in the bullpen just hoping for a reason to make a fool of himself. Somehow, I won’t be surprised if he gets his chance.

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