Royals 4, White Sox 3 (10 innings): Benches clear, mess remains
A followed-from-work bullet-point recap with a lot of bullets:
*Tim Anderson homered against the Royals again. Anderson pimped it again. The Royals got pissed again. This time, Brad Keller drilled him in the ass with his first pitch the next time they met, the benches cleared, and Joe West ejected both parties for some reason.
*Actually, I may know the reason.
*West rewarded the Royals for their bloodlust, because it shortened the White Sox’ bench in a game where they could’ve used a few more options. Like Adam Engel with the bases loaded. Yonder Alonso against a sidewinding lefty with runners on second and third. Engel again.
*Also, Daniel Palka had to take Yoan Moncada’s spot in the lineup because Moncada took a Martin Maldonado throw to the helmet on a stolen base. Palka did come through with a broken-bat hit his first time up to snap his 0-for-32 drought, but then he grounded a 2-0 pitch into a double play with the bases loaded, and then grounded out to end the game.
*The White Sox optioned Palka to Charlotte after the game, with a corresponding move coming Thursday in Detroit.
*Who else did the Sox lose? Rick Renteria got ejected for nearly throwing down in the pile, but the corresonding party on the Royals’ side — pitching coach Cal Eldred or a guy next to him — did not.
*Also, Lucas Giolito departed with hamstring tightness in the middle of the best start to any start this year. He had retired eight of nine batters he faced, five by strikeout courtesy of nine swinging strikes over 36 pitches. He had an awkward landing on his penultimate pitch, tried once more and looked even more affected.
*Anderson busted open a scoreless game with a majetstic homer to left, 418 feet away. He then responded with the kind of flair MLB promotes on its social media properties:
*Anderson might’ve rejoiced because his homer overwrote a bad send by Nick Capra, who tried to score Jose Abreu from first on the arms of Alex Gordon and Adalberto Mondesi.
*The next time up, Keller gave MLB another highlight to post on its Twitter account:
*Keller got ejected, but so did Anderson for reasons unclear.
*Anderson had already played himself, as he bobbled away one of two potential double-play balls in the top of the fifth. The Royals loaded the bases with one out, and while Josh Osich struck out Adalberto Mondesi to start his White Sox debut, Alex Gordon muscled a grounder up the middle to tie the game. Engel’s throw home was not a good one, bouncing past James McCann on its 27th hop.
*Hunter Dozier was the hero. He singled in the Royals’ first go-ahead run in the seventh after Jose Ruiz made the poor decision to walk the two fastest Royals. After the game went to extras, he opened Nate Jones’ first appearance on back-to-back days with a solo shot.
*The Sox should’ve won it in regulation, but Leury García was the only one to earn his keep. In the seventh, he walked, Palka singled, and a passed ball put them both in scoring position. Alas, Jose Abreu might’ve had the worst at-bat at his life, swinging at three pitches out of the zone after getting ahead 3-0. Alonso popped out, and Jimenez couldn’t figure out Jake Diekman’s sliders for the third out.
*The Sox then loaded the bases in the following inning with an infield single, a walk, and a Sánchez bunt single that rolled all the way to third base. Then Engel check-swung the first pitch from Wily Peralta into a force at the plate for the first out. García followed by smashing his first pitch through the right side, but it was hit too hard and only one runner could score. Up came Palka, who hit a firm grounder right to the shorstop for a routine twin killing.
*The Sox went 3-for-15 with runners in scoring position, stranding 14.
*Rondón committed the Sox’ third error in the 10th, but Jones got a 1-2-3 double play to nullify it.
*Let me know if I missed anything else. There was … a lot.
Record: 7-10 | Box score | Highlights
Author
Angel Hernandez might be the only thing standing between Joe West and Worst Umpire in Baseball.
Vic Carapazza should be in this discussion
Pimping is great. Watching a homer is fun. Bat flips are cool. Taunting is where it crosses the line.
Glad the Sox stayed year to year with Abreu.
As an aside, is “pimping” a term that just entered popular lexicon in the baseball world this week? I literally have never seen it in this context until multiple references today.
Probably since “Pimp My Ride” was a thing.
It’s odd that I’ve missed it. I should pay better attention.
The Royals (specifically Fillmeyer) were the only ones that taunted
I love how pitchers can get excited when they get a strikeout with the bases loaded to end an inning, but batters can’t get excited for knocking a go-ahead nuke. Baseball is so backwards.
I’d love to see year by year numbers on these retaliation HBPs (but not enough to find/compile them).
I feel like it was an unwritten rule that rarely came into play until the ten or so years. Regardless, it needs to change. The way that happens most quickly is with team fines and corresponding catcher suspensions. Any repeat offender should be hit with an 80 game suspension. It’s not a thing I’ve read elsewhere, but trying to inflict pain upon someone should at the minimum be on the same level as drug usage.
If this is how MLB wants to play these situations, Anderson might as well charge the mound next time. If you are going to get the grief, might as well get the gravy.
I want to see the Anderson ejection with audio from Benetti and Stone. Anyone have any idea where I can see that?
I found one clip that combines reactions from all the various broadcasters. It’s officially the maddest that I’ve heard Jason Benetti. He’s not giving Hawk a run for his money on the rant front anytime soon, but it was good to hear him fired up about it. https://www.mlb.com/gameday/royals-vs-white-sox/2019/04/17/567271#game_state=final,lock_state=final,game_tab=videos,game=567271
I enjoyed James Fegan’s writeup on the whole Anderson affair today. https://theathletic.com/930408/2019/04/17/white-sox-royals-clash-as-tim-anderson-fearlessly-pushes-baseballs-conservative-boundaries/
Conservatism has nothing to do with it. The nature of baseball is this: if you lose your cool you lose the game. Bring your strikeout to the field and you’re bound to make an error. Take your error to the batters box and you’re bound to strike out again. Go ahead and celebrate that homer. If the other team throws at you then you have the upper hand. Let that brushback upset you and they have the upper hand. That is why baseball teams have done it that way for over 150 years – an effective part of the competition. The psychological edge.
No, it’s definitely a cultural thing. The baseball-playing countries that aren’t in North America show that every day.
Counterpoint: Over the course of 150 years some things should change
I’m old enough to have learned from my mistakes: trying to change other people is a fools errand.
Home plate collisions and dirty slides at second disappeared pretty quickly when MLB felt compelled to act on them. The game is no worse for the wear.
There’s a lot of things that baseball teams did 100, 50, 20, even 10 years ago that are wrong. It’s an evolving game tactically and mentally, to say nothing of the changing demographics of the fans (and appetites thereof) that support it and are critical for its future.
If the aesthetics of baseball were only meant to please the expectations of older/past generations, then the phrase “baseball is dying” would probably have some truth to it. Thankfully, I don’t believe that.
I didn’t down-vote your comment because you don’t deserve that. I do, however, think you should reconsider the optics (not to mention injury risk) of the long-accepted practice that enthusiasm should be punished by hurling a hard projectile at a person at maximum velocity.
If the pitch was at his head or his knees then your point has some validity. There was zero intent to injure in this case.
I watched the incident three times. First with the sound off. It looked like a mild thing that was going to blow over and no ejections we’re forthcoming until Renteria started walking toward the kc dugout. Only then did Tim Anderson start getting very animated. If I’m the crew chief in that incident Renteria is ejected. I would have liked to keep the players in the game but Anderson was losing it and to diffuse it I reluctantly would have ejected him too. To save face I would have ejected Keller just so neither side feels they got completely screwed. Kudos to joe west for a job well done, I didn’t think he was capable.
Intent to injure doesn’t matter. If he could always put the ball where he wanted to, he wouldn’t have given up the homer to Anderson.
You can still put a guy on the DL by hitting him in the hand, wrist, arm, etc.
If they had just plunked Timmy, everyone got up and spent 5 minutes milling around and chirping, then cooled down, and the game went on with Keller ejected, I probably wouldn’t have felt too strongly about it. But, gun to my head? Yeah, it’s bullshit. I like a little bad blood in the division, but I don’t like it that much. I mean, weren’t the Royals themselves a little tired of Yordano Ventura’s schtick before he passed? Or was it just that he wasn’t beaning people under the proper, compliant-with-the-unwritten-rules-as-understood-by-“Cock-eyed” Josiah Henderson-in-1887 circumstances?
Capra had two bad sends in the 4th. Hamilton had McCann out at third by ten feet but dozier forgot to catch the ball. No reason to aggressively get your catcher to third base with two out
Wasn’t there the same criticism last season?
The break-even point is a lot lower than teams’ actual success rates for taking extra bases. Teams are mostly too conservative with their sends and are leaving runs on the table.
Capra was overzealous even for an extra base evangelist, though.
Literally fighting for last place
This is utter horse hockey (sp?). I’ve watched the video several times now, and in pure baseball terms, TA should not have been ejected. Of course, he’s made an enemy of West already, and that’s all one needs. Also, I hate to say that there’s a racist, “son, know your place” thing going on here, but I think there’s a racist “son, know your place” thing going on here.
I think West’s an equal opportunity a-hole.
Apropos of nothing I predicted Palka would be sent down after he got a hit. Do I win a mug or something? Pat on the back?
It has nothing to do with race. As you said, TA already spoke very poorly of West before today and West used his “power” today for retaliation. West is just a garbage ump that is respected by nobody in the league. Him and Angel Hernandez should both be looking for work.
On the upside, Tim broke Keller’s streak of 6 inning starts.
I’m a big fan of Anderson but thought his reaction was a bit too much. I knew there was going to be retaliation. The Royals may have noticed and not liked Anderson’s antics on Monday during the Castillo HR too.
That said, I don’t want to be the grumpy old guy yelling at kids to get off the lawn. The Sox, and now many other teams shoot off fireworks after HRs. Players celebrate now. Sometimes they go overboard but get them out.
I wish Anderson could’ve stayed in the game and exacted revenge by stealing 2nd and 3rd then scored.
Randall Grichuk starting useless debates by replying to Tim Anderson’s tweet:
Which is a response from TA after:
Palka gone, should Engel be next.
I guess it’s possible that he goes down when Jay comes back. Cordell, Leury and Jay can cover Center, if Palka isn’t in Right.
Question for the audience
It appeared to me TA and Keller only got tossed after several instances of reigniting the scuffle. By continually screaming at and shoving towards each other it allowed time for benches to clear and the whole thing to become a bigger scene.
Did I miss something where Tim got tossed soon after being hit by the pitch cause thats the way Binetti and Stone made it sound during the telecast which would be really unfair. However, if the ejections were because of the continued trash talking and what not Im not sure what else Joe West is suppose to do…. I just stood up for Joe west… I need a shower
Except it wasn’t really TA and Keller. There were other guys in the middle leading the trash talk parade. TA was clearly fired up, but thanks to Abreu he remained on the edges of the scuffle the entire time (and didn’t charge the mound in the first place). And if getting fired up is cause for ejection, well, I don’t know what to say about that. But Ned Yost should have been out too in that case.
Yea true, a lot of people were getting more and more involved.
Oh man this is gold.
Man, Grichuk is just digging himself a bigger and bigger hole with this, isn’t he?
Now he’s claiming his initial tweet wasn’t directly at specifically anybody and he’s mad at Tim for calling him out on it.
Cordell is indeed called up to replace Palka.
Giolito placed on the 10 day IL, Fulmer called up to take his spot.
I thought Cordell had to stay down until Friday. Or is the Giolito injury cover for that? Will Fullmer start? Or might they use Banuelos? Or tag team with the pair of them?