Baseball 2011

[smc]

Originally Posted by shadows

What was Kevin Gregg thinking? He throws 3 inside pitches( very inside) to David Ortiz, and he didn't expect him to get a little pissed off? And to top it all off, he then says something to Ortiz while he's going to first base! Gregg's lucky he still has his head attached, as Ortiz is a very large fellow!

Originally Posted by smc

I can understand the Orioles' frustration. Twenty runs given up to the Sox in two games. It seemed like only a matter of time before someone snapped. Did Gregg have a reputation as a hothead when he was with the Jays?

According to the Boston broadcasters, what he said to Ortiz after the pop-up was something mocking along the lines of: "That's it, run to first base." ...

More on the Kevin Gregg story ...

It seems to me that what Gregg said to reporters in the visitors' clubhouse after the game are signs of someone who needs to be taken to a quiet room by his very experienced manager, Buck Showalter, and given a serious talking-to about his future as a ballplayer. Here's what he said in defending his actions:

"I think we showed them we're not backing down, we're not scared of them, them and their $180 million payroll, we don't care. We're here to play the game, we have just as much right to play the game here, and we're going to do everything we can to win."

No one questioned the Orioles "right to play the game" at Fenway or anywhere else. The Red Sox did drive Baltimore's starting pitcher from the game after two-thirds of an inning, scoring 8 runs. Are the Red Sox supposed to let up on the offense after a certain number of runs in the 1st inning because of some kind of "slaughter" rule? Should Adrian Gonzalez not try to drive in a run because he's already leading the majors in RBIs and he doesn't need any more? Should David Ortiz not hit a three-run homer because that's just piling on?

Gregg continued, in response to Red Sox pitcher Josh Beckett questioning his inside pitching ("You go to the well three times, something's looking pretty bad," Beckett said. "I don't know why they were trying to do that, but it was pretty obvious to me that it wasn't just 'I was just trying to pitch you in'."):

"They're going to whine and complain about it because they think they're better than everybody else, but now, we just as much right to pitch inside as they do."

Perhaps this guy needs to go back to an Instructional League or Single-A, where they teach not only how to play baseball but how to be a baseball player.