Joba Chamberlain Requests Permission to Buzz the Tower
So you’re the Yankees. I know, I know- God help you… but just imagine. You’re in the 9th inning against your hated rivals, you’re ahead in the third game 5-0 and you’re about to sweep the series at home. One of your guys was plunked in the first game, you returned the favor and dinged one of your rival’s guys in the second game. Back in the last series you faced off against your rival, your nutty reliever buzzed your rival’s first baseman in the head and caused a bench-clearing brawl. In this current series, in the current game, that same first baseman got called out after the umps conferred at the instigation of your club and reversed the ruling he was safe at third– and your rival’s first baseman hollered up a storm at that.
Hey, what a co-inki-dink- that same rival first baseman is up to bat again in the 9th! For some odd reason, your wicked good reliever whizzes a fastball right over his head. And for some even odder reason, he then whizzes a SECOND fastball right over his head again. Now you’re the Yankees, remember? Please don’t insult our intelligence and claim that your ace relief pitcher, who has pitched almost 12 scoreless innings and has a zero ERA, just ACCIDENTALLY buzzed your rival first baseman’s head with a 95mph fastball. Twice.
I’ll tell you one person who doesn’t buy that horse hockey: Josh Beckett. And he made sure to voice his opinion quite vociferously from the dugout.
Yep- that’s our Joshie. First it’s a simple, “Get the fuck outta here!” Rather mild, by Josh standards. And then a more specific, “Get outta here you fuckin’ c*nt!”** Joba the Hutt is a big boy, but I would be a tad bit terrified to see ANGRY!JOSH! hollering at me.
I’m pleased as punch to have Josh as our resident firebrand, because we can always count on him to deliver some emotion– though lately he’s taken to expressing that emotion in the dugout instead of on the mound or in the press room (boo!). And I’ll also note that when Josh got pulled from Wednesday night’s game after giving up the tater to A-Rod, and Tek walked out to the mound and asked him about what happened, he replied clear as day (on the YES feed, at least): “It was fucking stupid.” He doesn’t offer up bullshit, and he has no censor…. and I love him for it.
THOUGHT OF THE DAY: Brian Cashman looks like a cross between a balding Precious Moments figurine and Huckleberry Hound. I’m serious.
EDIT: MLB has just announced that Joba the Hutt will face a two-game suspension and a fine (of undisclosed amount) for his totally accidental and not-at-all-on-purpose game of slippy pitches yesterday.
** On further review by finer minds than I, I agree that Joshie is not dropping a c**ksucker bomb, but is in fact telling Joba that he will C-U-Next-Tuesday.
The whole clip is on YouTube and he definitely says “Get Outta Here you Fuckin c*nt.” Nice Josh! Awesome stuff. Love that he has that fire. It cracks me up that the guys around him just stand there. He’s the only one with the emotion.
Talked to a Yankees fan about the rookie throwing at Youk. Of course she didn’t believe he was….but I changed her mind when I told her to watch Posada. He wanted the pitches out so Youk would chase. The first time it could have been a slip. Ok. The second time, same signal from Dumbo (oops, I mean Posada) and it’s at Youk’s head again!?! Don’t buy it. The kid sucks as a pitcher if that’s the case. So she decided it was better to admit he was throwing at him then to admit he’s a sucky pitcher. LOL There’s a Yankee fan for you.
god, the look on josh’s face when they first cut back to the dugout. wow. thanks sooooooooo much for posting the vid. and yeah, i agree with huck that it’s not male-chicken-sucker, it’s see you next tuesday. which i believe is the first time i’ve seen josh break out that particular big-gun.
Awwwww, are the poor wittle Wed Sox sad and pouty over getting swept? Sure sounds like sour grapes and crybabies in here. Gotta find something to talk about outside the lines since business was not taken care of inside the lines.
Jesus kids, this is baseball. Baseball is some where down below College Football (it’s always capitalized), rugby, the NFL, CFB again, and college baseball. But even I know this throwing at someone is a part of the game and has been for the history of the game. And this is news to the baseball superfans? I know it can’t be, so stop whining, it doesn’t become you. Besides, you still lead the East.
i really wonder what the constructive value is of a comment like joshua’s. has anyone ever read a comment like that and gone, “oh shit. he’s right! i need to stop whining! because baseball sucks! it’s below College Football! christ, what did i do before joshua came into my life to set me straight!”
I know Beth…Joshua’s comments were so amazing that I changed my mind. Jaba should throw at guys and knock them out. It’s part of baseball for Christ’s sake!! What were we thinking!??!
Clue to you Joshua…you don’t throw at a guy’s head EVER! You want to throw…take out his legs or like big Rog does, go for the rookie’s elbow. But his head?? Stupid comments from you.
I was just going to say the same as Beth and Huck. I agree that throwing at someone is part of the game, but there is an acceptable zone to do so. Between the shoulders and the knees. 98mph at the head is still 98 mph at the head – and Youk had every right to be pissed about it.
Kudos to Beckett for providing some much needed fireworks. I hope it’s okay with Joshua then when Beckett buzzes A-Rod, because hey, that’s all part of the game, right?
in fairness to job, throwing *over* a guy’s head is said to be better than throwing around where his shoulder is, because as youk did in this case, guys are quick enough to duck out of the way of a very high pitch. it’s when a pitcher aims for the area their head is *going* to be–around the shoulder in a normal stance–that i’ve heard tell he’s really trying to hurt somebody.
that said, we’re red sox fans and if you launch a potentially deadly missile at one of our players, we’re going to be mad. just like beckett was about one of his teammates, even though i’m sure he’s drilled more than a few guys himself in his time. *that’s* part of the game, too.
If Youkilis or anyone else on the Red Sox roster does not like the HBP part of the game, they should stroll across the locker room and ask their own pitching staff to throw the fucking ball over the plate. Problem solved.
wow, so much hostility when the yankees are the ones that won!
speaking of whining, mother theresa’s going back to that old chestnut about how Red Sox pitchers plunk Yankees hitters all the time on purpose. yawn. been hearing it since 2003. too lazy to even look up the myriad statistical analyses that show that in the instances where there have been any anomalies in HBP against the yankees by the red sox, they have been comically slight.
i love how one minute it’s part of the game and the next minute it’s all the big, bad, Red Sox’s fault.
and i reiterate…THE YANKEES SWEPT THE SOX THIS WEEK! how pathetic to hear the “boston sucks” chants and “papi sucks” chants after being preached at about it by so many years by MFY fans. that’s actually a similar issue–MFY fans will say “well YOU GUYS were mean to OUR GUYS first!” as if that’s even the point. the point, douchebags, is that up until 2004, all i heard about was how unclassy the sox fans were, and it was in specific references to “[insert team / player] sucks” chants. many’s the time i tried to argue just that there are idiots on both sides and it’s pointless to say one side’s worse than the other to no avail–i was constantly assured that inherent flaws in the genetic code of red sox fans made us clearly the inferior fan base.
now yankees fans, in the exact same position red sox fans were in at that time, are behaving in exactly the same way. but at this point, i don’t know if i have the mental energy to go back to any of those old internet haunts and bring up the hypocrisy thing. because god knows, mfy fans are sure to have a rationalization for that, too.
but this is what i’ve always said: there have been jerky players on both teams and there are idiots in both sets of stands. if anything sox and yankees fans are more alike than they are different, as are the players on the teams. it’s fun to have the rivalry we do on the field, but this “you’re all miscreants / your players are the ones who are dirty” arguments are REALLY tired.
*slow-clap for Beth*
Seriously. Neither team is spotless, and trying to argue as though that’s the case is ridiculous. It don’t make a shit what happened last year, or 3 years ago, or 10 years ago. Both sides have had plenty of dirt over that time. What matters is that if a pitcher hurls a 95mph fastball at a player’s head TWICE in a row, either (a) he’s doing it on purpose, and needs to be ejected, or (b) he completely sucks as a pitcher and is extremely dangerous, and needs to be ejected. There is no option c.
Here’s the perspective from a somewhat sane Yankee fan who *does not* hate the Sox. I think Joba was trying to send a message – but I don’t think he was trying to hit him in the head. He was going in high and tight or sailing it over his head as if to say, “I’m a rookie, but I am not to be trifled with.” This is how guys with swagger try to establish themselves. (I’m not saying it’s the right way.)
Youkilis had every right to be angry and Josh is awesome for being angry about it because that’s what teammates do and a fight between he and Joba would make for fantastic television!
The only thing I don’t like is Youkilis bringing up Scott Proctor. Proctor’s a nutball and he has absolutely nothing to do with Chamberlain. There’s no grand conspiracy. So, that was a little bit paranoid.
Now see that? I could potentially buy. That he was instructed to go in high and tight a couple of times and didn’t have sufficient control to execute the plan. That would make Joba’s comments afterwards that the ball “just slipped” not complete lies. But even if that’s the case, if you hurl a message ball the first time and you weren’t able to spot it properly, you should never throw a second one again right after. Then we’re back in option (a) doing it on purpose, or (b) dangerously reckless.
Now if he was instructed to sail the ball over his head, instead of going inside, I don’t like it. Because it’s not like those two balls went a foot over his head- they were right above his helmet before he ducked. Beth pointed out (rightly, I think) that the high sail ball isn’t as dangerous as one that’s aimed right at his face– but it’s also a hell of a lot more dangerous than your standard brushback. Those pitches weren’t brushbacks- or if they were, they were horrifically executed (and we’re back to option b).
And a sane Yankees fan who doesn’t hate the Sox? SAY IT AIN’T SO.
I think Youk maybe would not have brought up Proctor if that Proctor ball back in the last series was thrown at someone else. I think he took it a bit personally that in two series in a row, he had beanballs flung at his cranium by Yanks relievers.
sane yankees fans DO exist. i happen to know several. hence my point about there being idiots and upstanding citizens on both sides, both on and off the field.
Yet another example of why we need the DH eliminated.
Not that Joba would ever come to bat as a reliever, but certainly one of his teammates in the pen should be made to suffer for this.
Naturally the Yankees fans trot out excuses that depend on a bunch of unseen, unhearn or outright imagined evidence. The tape is there. Consecutive pitches at Youkilis’s head. Chamberlain is a piece of shit and so is anyone who takes up for him
Texas Gal and Beth – thank you for answering my response reasonably. I like the way you guys write and I live in the heart of Boston territory. I am in a tough spot because I enjoy watching both teams.
Taco Bell Manager – I’m glad you took the high road there. So, Joba and I are pieces of shit, but I suppose Josh is a super-classy for using the C-word? (Not that I care if Josh is classy. In fact, I like it when he lets it rip. But the rest of the world – not so much down with the c-word)
all these effin yankee fans are stupid. okay throwing at someone is fine but at their head?? I’d like to see one of those yankee fans in the batters box and get a 98mph fastball come at their head and see if they get mad
If by “all these effin yankee fans” you mean those people who think that either beanballs to the noggin are no big deal or think that Youk had nothing to complain about, then I agree. I don’t think all Yanks fans are saying those things, but I agree those that are would be howling up a storm if it was a guy in pinstripes that got buzzed.
As for classy – I don’t think any major league baseball team anywhere can lay claim to that title. Every team has its own skeletons, its own assholes, its own dirty plays. That doesn’t excuse those things, but it does make it ludicrous to claim the high road over another person.
There’s a big difference between supporting your team and supporting a player’s shitty actions. Defending a shitty action is one thing- because that’s ridiculous- but defending your team shouldn’t mean you get called names. Even if you ARE a Yankee fan. (hee!)
In other words- LAY OFF KRISTIN, SHE’S COOL.
Aww – thanks Texas Gal. I guess trying to be the voice of reason doesn’t pay. I’ll just say one more thing. Throwing at someone is always a shitty thing to do. And I have never defended a Yankee who has done it. (And that includes pieces of people’s bats, Roger.)