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Gardner slide was clean,so Tigers retribution misguided
Brett Gardner’s slide was hard and clean. While it was unfortunate that Tigers’ second baseman Carlos Guillen injured his knee on the play, and it requires a stint on the disabled list, any retribution by the Tigers’ Wednesday night was misguided.
Jeremy Bonderman was warned by home plate umpire Eric Cooper after hitting Gardner in the first inning Wednesday. The presumption is he threw at him intentionally because of the play Monday.
Guillen did complete the double play, saving an improbable victory for the Tigers Monday. It was a great play on his part. If anybody ever questions his desire, all he has to do is pull out a clip of that play.
But if Gardner hadn’t made that slide and not attempted to break up the DP in such an aggressive manner, he would been held accountable by his manager and teammates for lack of effort. Taking out a player in that circumstance is part of the game - like collisions at home plate between base runners and catchers.
Just as misguided, however, was Yankees’ pitcher Chad Gaudin drilling Tigers’ first baseman Miguel Cabrera in the back with a pitch late in the game. Cabrera hit two home runs earlier.
How could Cooper have not warned Gaudin? I don’t blame Tigers’ manager Jim Leyland for being livid.
There was no consistency there - and typical of the shoddy umpiring in the major leagues this season.
Jeremy Bonderman was warned by home plate umpire Eric Cooper after hitting Gardner in the first inning Wednesday. The presumption is he threw at him intentionally because of the play Monday.
Guillen did complete the double play, saving an improbable victory for the Tigers Monday. It was a great play on his part. If anybody ever questions his desire, all he has to do is pull out a clip of that play.
But if Gardner hadn’t made that slide and not attempted to break up the DP in such an aggressive manner, he would been held accountable by his manager and teammates for lack of effort. Taking out a player in that circumstance is part of the game - like collisions at home plate between base runners and catchers.
Just as misguided, however, was Yankees’ pitcher Chad Gaudin drilling Tigers’ first baseman Miguel Cabrera in the back with a pitch late in the game. Cabrera hit two home runs earlier.
How could Cooper have not warned Gaudin? I don’t blame Tigers’ manager Jim Leyland for being livid.
There was no consistency there - and typical of the shoddy umpiring in the major leagues this season.
Labels: Brett Gardner Carlos Guillen Jeremy Bonderman Chad Gaudin Miguel Cabrera
posted by Pat Caputo at
3:44 AM
12 Comments:
At least you know that Bonderman will back you up. The Tigers need a good old fashioned 1981-style brawl to get things going again. That umpire was so out of line not ejecting the Gaudin. A warning is a warning ...
Pat,
I also thought Gardner's slide Monday night was clean. After finding out that Carlos was going on the DL, though, I was ok with Bondo plunking him on the first pitch of the game. He hit him in the leg, and he didn't head-hunt him. He did it the right way at least. Not a big deal; I honestly thought it was over after that. A little bean-ball is part of the game, when handled the right way.
I wasn't a fan of them throwing at Cabrera after the 2 home runs, but I figured the ejection was coming. It didn't. That Gary Cooper didn't eject Gaudin and Girardi after Cabrera got plunked was absolutely ridiculous. It's standard procedure to toss the manager and the pitcher after a warning has been issued. It spiraled out of control with Cooper not being able to toss Gonzalez for clearly throwing at Jeter, understandably frustrating the Yankees too. I think the biggest blame goes to Gary Cooper here. He could have squashed it, but he handled the situation so poorly that I think it's safe to assume there will be some fireworks this afternoon at Yankee Stadium.
Travis
it may not have been dirty, but gardner, as a base runner, has to get down sooner than he did.
I get that these are big games for the Yanks, but that slide was not right. I can't call it dirtybecause it was a really bad split-second decision from Gardner.
It is a matter of where that slide started. Unobstructed Gardner would have slid way past the bag. Gardner didn't go in feet first. He threw his entire body weight into Guillen's shin, and Guillen was on the back of the bag. I don't think a take out is supposed to tackle a guy, just trip him up and obstruct his usual throwing motion.
The Tigers were right to bean him (albeit a day late) and send a message that the slide was not appropriate.
Correction. It's Eric Cooper, not Gary. I guess I misunderstood the name. Sorry. You get the drift, though.
Travis
Rick Heitmeyer,
Yeah, I suppose, but it was almost forcing a situation that didn't exist.
Caputo
Travis,
I didn't like either pitcher throwing at the hitter in those situations. The fact Guillen went on the D.L. shouldn't have changed a thing, in my opinion, about the how the play was viewed.
Caputo
Anonymous,
Well, there is risk when you get down. It could mean taking a ball in the face. Guillen had a choice, too, and that was pull away. He hung in there, but paid the price. Good, hard baseball in my opinion.
Caputo
Rob,
Appreciate your opinion, but the Tigers could have sent a much bigger message by not losing the next three games.
Caputo
Travis,
Seen "The Pride of the Yankees" lately.
Caputo
Pat,
Ha, I didn't even think about that! Great movie, and Gary Cooper was outstanding in Pride of the Yankees. I've always wondered how accurate of a portrayal that is of Gehrig.
Travis
Gardner's slide may not have been done with the intent to injure, but it was hardly a "clean" slide. He clearly slide late and long. Guillen was positioned to the left field side of the bag, and Gardner's first sliding contact was at the bag, where normal slides occur well before the bag. Bonderman was absolutely justified in his first pitch to Garnder, it's just a shame that Verlander didn't do it the night before when he should have.
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