Skip to main content

Nats' Johnson Was Right to Rat on Peralta

By
It's a rarity that I include opinions here on the site, but the much-talked-about Joel Peralta ejection on Tuesday night has me itching to put my thoughts out there.

If you missed it, Tampa Bay Rays reliever Joel Peralta was ejected from Tuesday's contest against his former club, the first-place Washington Nationals, prior to ever throwing a pitch in the game. Nationals manager Davey Johnson asked the umpiring crew to check Peralta's glove for a foreign substance and pine tar was found. Clearly, Johnson knew of the pitcher's tendency to utilize the sticky material, which is acceptable for batters but banned for pitchers.

Rays manager Joe Maddon was beyond angry over the situation, using vulgar language to describe what he thought was an uncool maneuver.

"It was kind of a p***y move to go out there and do that under those circumstances. I like the word p***y move," Maddon was quoted as saying, following the Rays' 5-4 victory over the Nats.

He added that Johnson's intent to have an opposing player disqualified from the game in that fashion was bush league and cowardly.

In the day since the incident, the opposing managers have swapped insults through the media, with Johnson referring to Maddon as "a weird wuss".

Fans of the game have begun referring to the Nationals as "snitches" and "whiners". Individuals inside and outside of the game have questioned Johnson's methods, critiquing the Nationals for using information gained through insider means rather than scouting or observing game play.

Please keep it real, folks. Surely fans of basement dwelling teams despise the clubs on top, but why should anyone allow another team to cheat against them? It seems people would rather diss the team that's on top of the National League East division standings than place proper blame on a man that was caught breaking the rules of a sport that those same folks hold sacred.

Davey Johnson isn't wrong for using what he knows about a player that played for his club when he faces that player's new team. If Washington personnel were aware that Peralta had a tendency to tip a certain pitch and they told all their batters about it to gain an advantage, that would be smart coaching. The same applies when they disable a player from cheating against their team. This was simply a case of an intelligent move by a veteran manager.

While the famous line of "Don't hate the player, hate the game" isn't fully applicable here, a variance the likes of "Don't hate the Nationals, hate the shyster" might fit the bill.

_________________________________________

You can follow PhoulBallz on Twitter by clicking HERE.

Also connect with PhoulBallz on Facebook by clicking HERE
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Lidge Shaky, T-Mac Honored in Trenton

By
TRENTON, NJ- Brad Lidge made his second rehab appearance for the Double A Reading Phillies on Thursday night and it didn't go as well as the veteran reliever or the team had hoped. Lidge struggled with his command and turned in a rather poor outing for the club that entered the night in a playoff race, 1 game behind division rival Trenton for the Wild Card spot in the Eastern Division. On the disabled list since spring training with a strained right rotator cuff, Lidge experienced an elbow strain when he was working back from that issue in late May. In his outing against the Yankees affiliate in Trenton, Lidge displayed difficulty with his control as he threw three wild pitches, hit two batters, walked another and gave up a single, all while letting up two earned runs on 28 pitches in 2/3 of an inning. After the disappointing performance, Lidge was composed and focused on some positive aspects, having reached 89 and 90 MPH on scouts' radar guns, according to some reports. ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Jason Knapp Q&A

By
PhoulBallz .com was fortunate enough to meet with Phillies prospect Jason Knapp just one day after he caught the attention of the baseball world with his 7 shut out innings, 14 strike out performance against the Indians' Lake County team. - I asked Jason, the Lakewood BlueClaw , for some thoughts about his big game... I had pretty good command of three pitches (fastball, curve, change up). I was on the same page with my catcher, D'Arnaud , and I ended up, ya know, I felt pretty good. - In a great performance like that, how much credit goes to Travis D'Arnaud , the catcher? More than you might expect, definitely. I didn't shake him off once. He told me what to throw and I do what I'm told. And if it works out, a lot of the credit goes to the catcher. - Does the lack of run support (Lakewood has scored 3 total runs in his 3 starts), in your few starts, increase your stress level, or enhance your focus? No, I just try to go out and do my job every outing. Ya know, we...
5 comments
Read more

Eric B Needs to be Cut (and My Name is Rakim)

By
While the Phillies are on a hot streak this month, one player on the team is not. Eric Bruntlett is 1-for-12 in July. Since the start of May, Bruntlett's apex in batting average has been .167 on June 14th. Bruntlett's ineptitude can be tolerated no longer. Get rid of this guy NOW! Eric B. is the 2009 Endy Chavez. Remember Endy...the guy who in 2005 managed just 2 hits in his final 42 games played as a Phillie? That is about the sort of output the Phillies are getting from Bruntlett, and it's time to fix this void. Julio Lugo was designated for assignment last week by the Red Sox and is expected to become a free agent. The Metropolitans are rumored to be interested. Why wouldn't the Phillies be interested in a guy who could surely outhit Bruntlett? Lugo was hitting .284 through 37 games played this season with Boston. Suspended Lehigh Valley IronPig Pablo Ozuna is eligible to return next Wednesday. Ozuna is batting .294 through 51 games at triple A. Miguel Cairo is also...
6 comments
Read more