It was a terrible decision by Lawrie. It's just plain luck that Escobar didn't get seriously hurt. http://www.sbnation.com/mlb/2015/4/20/8458119/brett-lawrie-slide-royals-as-unwritten-rules
I agree with sky walker. Lawrie slid WAY late, with intent to injure. Lawrie has always had an attitude, and is a very classless ball player.
Okay.. glad we cleared that up.. When the Royals could, they returned the favor - but then went after him again. It should've been settled after the first one. Royals were just as dirty as the slide from Lawrie.
Yes, that is still the baseline. A runner establishes his line while running and is called out if he ventures 3' out of said line. Lawrie did not, he broke up a double play, something he was taught to do when he was 14. Pay attention to some games this summer, and you will see far worst attempts by players going out of their way on similar plays. This became a big deal, because unfortunately an injury occurred. It was late, it was too bad Escobar got hurt, and it was expected by Lawrie he was going to get beaned the 1st time. However it's not nearly as dirty as trying to bean someone with a 100 MPH fastball, let alone telling them the next one is going to his head. Either way after Herrera's actions, the June series should be an exciting one to watch.
Even when he was a jay, I couldn't stand him. I'm glad they traded him especially since we got Donaldson out of that deal. Lawrie has a bad attitude, s***ty temper and seeing that evey game got old.
The Red Sox offense can't back their pitching up when needed, and their pitchers can't back the offense when needed. They have a lineup full of low .200 and .100 hitters right now. I predicted a struggling season, and I think it's beginning to show already. The Jays look strong and as long as anyone by the Yankees end up at the top, I will be ok with it after this season. The Royals are at least providing some entertainment to an organization that was all but forgotten for so many years.
The O's rotation was lights out at the end of last year - I don't know what's happening now. It doesn't help starting the season playing a couple of series against the Jays and Sox. Jays are looking great, but they looked just as good last year then took a nose dive in the second half. I thought the Sox's rotation was going to be a season killer, but I've been somewhat impressed so far.
This isn't the type of entertainment the team should want... Ventura needs to be suspended for what he has been doing this year. 2 games in a row he has been ejected, pretty sure he instigated the issue yesterday. He needs to straighten up and be a little more mature.
Unless you are watching the games, I don't think you have a clue as to what is going on!!!!!!! First off, Eaton started calling him a F**King F*ggot as soon as he started up the line. Ventura responeded in an inappropriate way, but this was started by Eaton and something that happened the previous inning. Nobody knows for sure what that was, but the Royals were clearly upset about something that had been done in between innings. Against the A's, he hit Lowry in retaliation for a late and dangerous slide into Escobar. Pitchers hit batters hundreds of times a year in MLB in retaliation for something or another. The timing was bad because he did it after a home run, but that's no different than when Samardzija hit Cain on opening day following a Moustakas home run, except Cain had done nothing to provoke that attack. So, while Ventura is showing some immaturity at reacting to things, he's not the bad boy that people are painting him out to be. Keep in mind they have now been hit by 17 pitches in 16 games, and since I'm sure you didn't watch the game, I'm guessing you didn't see Moustakas taking a fastball to the face a couple inning earlier. The Royals are reacting to the actions of the other teams. Eventually they will need to just start to ignore it and just take their irritation out on their opponents on the field by beating them and letting their game do the talking, but it's not like this stuff has never happened before. In fact Tory Hunter did an interview with the Royals broadcast people telling them that he remembers the same type stuff happening to Them when he was with the Twins while they were beginning to exert their dominance several years back. Other teams don't like to see the teams they have always been able to kick around stand up and beat them regularly, they don't like it and they are doing things to provoke the Royals, hoping to get them off their game. The Royals just need to realize they are just plain better than teams like the A's, and the White Sox and do their talking with batting average, on base percentage, pitching and defense.
I agree with most of that except I don't think ignoring your teammates getting hurt and just playing hard will ever fix it. Crying about it to a league in the form of formal complaints won't help either. Some things you just have to sort out on the field and if the opponents want to declare war then you just loose the dogs and let it play out.
All I'm saying is that the entire Royals team needs to figure out a better way to retaliate than what they have been doing. 2015 MLB Ejections: Royals 9, Padres 3, White Sox 2, 11 teams each with one. I guess the entire league is after the Royals. Yes the Royals have been hit A TON this year... But something needs to be said about how far retaliation goes. "Every time the benches empty, every time a batter is targeted with a fastball, it’s as if a baseball version of Russian Roulette plays out. Play it out enough times and somebody is going to get seriously hurt." "Because it’s not always the other team’s fault. A lot of times, it is. But sometimes, it’s not. Maybe the best thing for Ventura to do, when he caught the comebacker to the mound Thursday night, would have been to just flip the ball to first base and walk off the field wordlessly, no matter what anybody on the White Sox said or did. Maybe, when Mike Trout slid across home plate and shouted exuberantly near Ventura earlier this month in the midst of a Royals blowout, it would have been best for Ventura to walk back to the mound. Maybe it would have been better for Kelvin Herrera to keep his 100 mph fastball aimed at Perez’s glove, rather than at Brett Lawrie’s back, given that Ventura had hit Lawrie the day before." IMO retaliation can only be taken so far.
I don't disagree with you on that, but they need to be a little smarted bout how they go about it. If people are going to be getting suspended, they should be people that are less important to the teams success than our ace, our starting center fielder, and out 7th inning stud. Let a couple of the longs guys do the the work on the teams that are pushing the envelope, or take your own hard slides when the opportunity is given. The most important thing is to win ball games and that gets tough if your #1 and #3 starters might get suspended.
So what you are saying, is maybe the Royals should just lay down and take it, hoping it will stop. Well, that's not going to happen because if teams know they can push the Royals around and there will be no repercussions then they will continue to push the envelop. Mike Moustakas was about 2" away from being in the hospital with a broken jaw last night. From a pitcher that again had pretty much pinpoint command of his pitches. Now, do I think he was throwing at his head? No, but I do think he was throwing at him. There were 2 outs and nobody on, this is a theme that has played out about 10 times this year for the Royals already. If you had read my full response, you would have seen that I also think they need to do their talking on the field, but they are clearly being targeted early this season by other teams and even the most level headed person has his breaking point.
That's a fair point. What gets me about this whole mess is the take the umps have on it. What the heck is going on that they keep allowing other teams to intentionally hurt or attempt to hurt Royals players and never eject any of them. Makes me wonder if some of the Royals or management haven't mouthed off about one too many bad calls somewhere.
Ventura suspension... Think the punishment fits the situation. Hopefully things clear up for him and the Royals moving forward. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
