A Wild Weekend in Baseball

It was a crazy weekend for baseball with the Mets taking 2 of 3 from the Yankees in an exciting series, Barry Bonds finally hitting number 714 and the Detroit Tigers taking first place in the AL Central.

Not surprising was the White Sox dominance over the Cubs Friday and Saturday afternoon. What was surprising, to AJ Pierzynski anyway, was the right hook delivered to his chin by Cubs catcher Michael Barrett.

First, let me just say that when I was watching this game and saw the benches clear and the White Sox and Cubs at home plate brawling, I wasn't sure what to think. My thought process went something like this:

• Surprise - What the hell is going on? How can Barrett take exception to being bowled over without the ball when he was blocking the plate? You don't want to get run over, get off the plate. Is this your first time catching?
• Relief - This fight was cathartic. See, growing up in this town with a lot of Cub fan friends, there have been many an argument between us about these two teams. Sometimes it would get close to coming to blows. Yes, last year we won the World Series, and while that was the ultimate weapon against the Cub fans, I think Saturday completed it. Seeing the two teams fight released a lot of tension in me for some reason that I'm not sure I'll ever understand or be able to explain.
• Worry - Visions of broken hands danced in my head. I kept envisioning Scott Podsednik being trampled underneath the pile as he kept punching Barrett. (By the way, you know Pods just earned a bunch of cred in the clubhouse after that. It hadn't been two seconds since Barrett threw the punch before Scotty had tackled him and gotten him into a headlock.)
• Sheer Joy - After the dust had settled, Tadahito Iguchi delivered the knockout blow when he hit a grand slam off of Rich Hill to make the score 5-0. Not to mention the irony as DJ (Darrin Jackson, White Sox color analyst working for Fox that day) was talking about how the Sox don't swing for the fences in this situation when Iguchi did just that.

There have been a few things since the fight that have bothered me though. Mostly it's the portrayal of AJ in the media.

Hypocrisy, it seems, knows no bounds. It started first with Jay Mariotti's column in Sunday's Chicago Sun-Times. Mariotti took the usual route portraying Pierzynski as an annoying pain in the ass who brings everything upon himself. He talked about how AJ is always doing everything he can to get his face on the television. Yes, this is the same Jay Mariotti who makes sure to appear on ESPN's Around the Horn EVERY SINGLE DAY while the other columnists on the show come and go. He's also the same guy who last fall railed against GM Ken Williams for not getting Ken Griffey Jr. but then, after the Sox won the World Series, heralded Williams as a brilliant general manager. Here's a new drinking game for you college kids. Watch Around The Horn every day and take a shot everytime Mariotti flip-flops on something. You'll be so drunk by the time you're done you could write one of his columns for him.

He also goes on about how Barrett isn't the kind of guy who normally does this stuff. I've also heard this same sentiment echoed on sports radio.

Really? Barrett isn't that kind of guy?

Well then, can somebody please explain to me which Cubs catcher that was a little over a week ago who almost started a brawl with the San Diego Padres' Dave Roberts?

Roberts' crime?

He crossed home plate on a double.

Also, which Cubs catcher was it that nearly charged the mound against the Houston Astros' Roy Oswalt in 2004, and then a few weeks later when facing Oswalt again started screaming obscenities and challenging him BEFORE he even stepped into the batter's box?

Oh, that was Michael Barrett? Are you sure!? He's not that kind of guy!!

Please. AJ gets cast as a bad person cuz he does everything in his power to help his team win, but Barrett's a good guy cuz he can't handle his job.

Now I have nothing against Michael Barrett. I've always felt he was a good baseball player. My problem lies with what the media is saying about this incident. If anything, I respect Michael even more now. He came out after the game and said he overreacted, and what he did was wrong.

It takes a man to do that.

Then there is Cubs pitcher Rich Hill. He called AJ "gutless" for what he did to Barrett. Well Rich, if you hadn't walked the bases loaded, AJ wouldn't have had to make such a "gutless" move. You can go ahead and tell all your new friends down in AAA (The Cubs demoted Hill after the game) about how gutless your performance was.

Also, there was the case of centerfielder Brian Anderson pummeling Cubs utilityman John Mabry. Anderson will probably be getting suspended for a few games after MLB reviews the tape, but I can't blame him for what he did. Yes, Mabry was running into the fray with intentions of being a peacemaker, but I know what Anderson was thinking.

"Ok. I'm replacing a fan favorite in this town (Aaron Rowand) and I'm batting .170. I better find somebody and just start beating the hell out of him."

And he did. Mabry had to go to the hospital after the game for X-rays.

The last and, for the Cubs fans, maybe the most important thing I took from this fight was the vast difference in the attitudes of the two managers involved. During the game between innings FOX analysts Thom Brennaman and Darrin Jackson interviewed each manager in the dugout. When Brennaman asked Dusty Baker for his take on the fight, he sold out his own guy.

"I thought it was a good clean play by Pierzynski, and Michael overreacted. Maybe he's frustrated."

Immediately I thought that Ozzie would NEVER do that. He may agree completely with what Baker said, but in Baker's shoes he would have defended Barretts actions publicly, and addressed his real opinion to Barrett privately.

Baker is supposed to be a player's manager, yet he wouldn't back up his player. Also, I can't find the quote but Baker also said something about Rich Hill after the game too. It was to the effect of Hill should just keep his mouth shut.

Fights like these are supposed to help unite a ball club, and when given a chance to do just that it seems Baker decided to seperate himself even further from the team. Maybe he has Arizona on his mind already.

All in all it was a very exciting series this weekend. The Sox took 2 out of 3 after gift-wrapping a victory for the Cubs on Sunday. There was a lot of talk during the week on both sides that this rivalry doesn't mean that much to the players.

I don't think anybody is going to be able to make those claims again when the teams meet again next month at Wrigley Field. I know my opinion on it has changed.

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Lost in the shuffle this weekend of haymakers and tackles was the fact the White Sox fell out of first place in the AL Central Division. That position now belongs to the Detroit Tigers.

At the beginning of the season I made it a point to watch as many Cleveland Indians games as I could to keep an eye on the competition. Well, in the last few weeks Indians' games have been replaced by Tigers' games.

The same Tigers who own MLB's best record at 29-14. The most startling aspect of this team is exactly how much they remind me of the 2005 White Sox. Every game I see it's somebody different getting the big hit, while their pitching completely shuts the opposition down.

At the beginning of the season the White Sox swept a 3 game series from the Tigers in Comerica Park, but I assure you that the Tigers team I've seen the last few weeks is not that team I saw in early April.

Saturday was a great example of how this Tigers team has changed under Jim Leyland. With a 5-1 lead in the 6th inning, starter Mike Maroth gave up a solo shot to the Reds' Adam Dunn, followed by a single from Javier Valentin. Leyland then went to the fireballing youngster Joel Zumaya, he of the 97-100MPH fastball, and knee-buckling curveball.

Well, Zumaya got into some trouble and soon he was staring at Ken Griffey Jr. with the bases loaded, and a 5-2 lead. Four pitches later Zumaya watched a 99MPH fastball fly off of Griffey's bat and into the right field bleachers to give the Reds a 6-5 lead.

The Tigers I'm accustomed to seeing would have been done right there. But these Tigers weren't. The bullpen held their own from then on and in the bottom of the ninth, with 2 outs and 2 strikes, leadoff man Curtis Granderson sent a line drive to the opposite field down the third base line and just over the fence.

Tie ball game, and the Tigers would go on to win in extra innings.

Sunday afternoon was an absolute pitching gem, something Tiger fans are seeing a lot of this season. Lefty Nate Robertson matched Reds starter Aaron Harang (another surprise this season) 0 for 0, inning after inning.

The Tigers finally pushed one across late, and Robertson and Todd Jones held on for the 1-0 Tiger win, and first place.

The shutout was the eighth of the year for this Tigers team. They've only played 43 games.

There are a lot of questions about whether or not this team can do this for an entire season. The truth is nobody knows, not even the Tigers right now. The offense will hit all year, as they have one of the better lineups in MLB. Whether or not the pitching can hold up is the biggest question.

What I do know is this, these are the same exact questions people asked about the White Sox last season.

These Detroit Tigers are for real. But the true character of this team is about to be tested. Over the next 20 games they have series against the Cleveland Indians, Boston Red Sox, New York Yankees and, in early June, what is looking to be a huge 3 game series at US Cellular Field against the White Sox.

How the Tigers come out of those 4 series will show whether or not they are just feasting on teams like the Royals and Twins or whether they are serious contenders.

I have a feeling there are going to be a lot of surprised baseball fans out there.

Random Thoughts

• Carlos Zambrano is a lunatic. Does anybody else find it absolutely hysterical that Zambrano would take such umbrage to AJ Pierzynski's trot around the bases after hitting a home run off him? Isn't this the same Carlos Zambrano who pumps his fist, yells, and then points to the sky after every strike out? And isn't this the same Zambrano who even shows up his own teammates from time to time on the field? I'm not sure if his mother didn't love him enough or what but the fact is, if it wasn't for his 98MPH fastball and filthy stuff he would be locked up in a psych ward somewhere.
• LeBron James is a monster. I know the Cavs lost to Detroit yesterday, and yes, King James cried on the bench afterward, but did he not answer all the doubters? Everybody said(me included) he'd never be able to put up the numbers during the playoffs that he did in the regular season. Then he went out and did exactly that, and almost singlehandedly beat the Detroit Pistons. Oh, and he's only 21 years old. I go to sleep at night dreaming of James in a Bulls jersey a few years from now. Apparently there's a clause in his Nike contract that calls for a raise if he plays in either NY, LA or Chicago. NY is a no-go cuz the Knicks will not be able to get rid of all the contracts on their books and in LA, he'd have to share the spotlight with Kobe. That leaves Chicago, and LeBron, we'd love to have you.
• Frank Thomas returns to Chicago tonight with the Oakland A's. I pray that our fans don't act like the morons in Cleveland when Thome returned to Jacob's Field. Yes Frank said some things during the offseason, but it still doesn't change the fact he is the best hitter in franchise history. I don't think there will be too much booing as Thomas has generally always been loved by Sox fans, it's the Chicago media that has a problem with him. The team has planned a pre-game ceremony for Thomas, along with a video to play between the top and bottom of the first inning.
• Two game 7's tonight in the NBA. I'm taking San Antonio and the Clippers. I think the Clippers have outplayed the Suns the entire series and will finish them off tonight. Also, I think Dallas is done cuz generally when teams have a chance to finish a team off at home in Game 6 and blow it they don't recover in Game 7.
• Kentucky Derby winner Barbaro broke his leg (and a lot of spectators' wallets, I'm sure) during the Preakness this weekend. After having surgery on it, they are saying he's 50-50. Make millions of dollars for a man one day, and then a few weeks later they're probably gonna shoot ya. Ain't life a bitch?