Friday, August 14, 2009

Something to Talk About

Wednesday's entertaining Dodgers vs. Tim Lincecum game is far gone, yet it's still generating reactions. From Tracy Ringolsby at FOXSports.com:

Are players overly sensitive?

San Francisco third baseman Pablo Sandoval charged Dodgers' pitcher James McDonald on Wednesday when McDonald pitched him inside in one of the more senseless efforts of a senseless string of hitters overreacting to being pitched tight.

If Sandoval had been paying attention to the game he would have noticed the cheap shot slide of teammate Eugenio Velez in the previous inning that may not have been intentional but could have seriously injured Dodger catcher Russ Martin. After a slide like that, a teammate of Velez's should have anticipated a wake-up call from McDonald.

And from Chris Ballard at SI.com:

That's the funny thing about the Giants-Dodgers rivalry: in some respects, it is now often one-sided. Historically it was a New York thing, Brooklyn vs. Manhattan, but now it often feels as though L.A. could take it or leave it, whereas in the Bay Area, where I live, it's a rallying cry of sorts. We hate the Lakers, detest the Dodgers and mock our southern counterpart's politics, pollution and glaring lack of both a football team and reliable water source. But rarely is there return fire. Maybe it's that Los Angelenos can't be bothered. Or perhaps it's that our hate has been co-opted: after all, people chant "Beat L.A." in cities all over the country now, in all manner of sports. No one chants "Beat S.F."

No — we just do it.

UPDATE: Wait, there's more! From an unsourced quote at Molly Knight's Tumblr:

"If he doesn’t want to be pitched inside, tell him not to hit .330"
— Matt Kemp, regarding a pitch thrown by James McDonald to Pablo Sandoval that ensued a benches-clearing showdown at AT&T Park.

A simultaneous diss and compliment. Very nice, Bison!

photo by Ben Margot/AP

10 comments:

Paul said...

When I was in San Diego for the 4th of July weekend series and was given one of those beautiful "Beat L.A." towels I had the question why is Los Angeles referred to by its initials more than any other city. It is too many syllables?

Sure some people say N.Y. but it sounds like a bad attempt at being hip. I have heard lots of announcers say L.A. Dodgers but no one says S.F. Giants.

I do say F the Giants all the time.

Wesley Vento said...

I'd feel kind of sorry for Giants fans if they all weren't complete toolbags. I've never been to Philly, or New York so I can't attest to the level of asshattery in their stands, but those jackanapes in SF are almost unbearable. Maybe its the garlic on their breath, or the level of alcohol one must consume to actually sit through a Giants game, but those people are angry all the time. Well, not totally true. As a former resident of SF (went up there for school), I'd go to games and there was always a significant portion of people who were there on the company dime, drinking WINE and barely paying attention to the game at all. Bad fans, really really bad.

Mr. LA Sports Czar said...

The Black and Orange has been overrun by green for the last few years. Success breeds contempt, especially when they can't seem to succeed. They can't even worry about the Dodgers any more, seeing as how they have to catch up with Colorado.

Matt said...

So the guy who lives in SF sees how SF gets excited/fired up when the Giants play the Dodgers? How novel.

I like how he can assess the passion for the rivalry from way up in the Bay Area. Not to mention that LA is something like 348 times larger than SF. I personally still get excited whenever the rivalry is renewed, because I just hate the Giants, hate them with the firey burning passion of 1,000 (splendid) suns (sons?).

I live in San Diego and I find that rivalry more one-sided. Padre fans go crazy whenever LA comes to town, but I haven't seen that reciprocated to the same level at Dodger Stadium. I tell Padre fans at Petco that I think of them as that quaint team to the south that wouldn't exist if not for the Dodgers moving west and Buzzy Bavasi leaving LA to start a new team.

And if I remember correctly, Boston originated the "Beat L.A." chant during Showtime. As far as I'm concerned, they are the only fans that can use the chant...everyone else is just riding coattails.

Paul said...

My first Giants-Dodgers game was in 1982at Candlestick for the Joe Morgan homerun that knocked the Dodgers out. They were chanting Beat L.A. at me and I was a shy 6 year old.

I hated Joe Morgan and the Giants ever since that bad bad day. I am not a big fan of Terry Forster either.

Orel said...

We're here for you, Paul!

Paul said...

Thanks Orel.

Traumatic experiences can be processed in a healthy manner through support groups. If that fails there is always alcohol.

I Alivandi said...

Kemp was right. If a pitcher wants any chance at all against a good hitter, they need to pitch inside. Kemp is pitched inside constantly. Sandoval's hitting style requires him to crowd the plate. Put that together with his corpulence and he is going to get hit once in a while. McDonald's pitch was clearly not at all intended to hit, or even brush back, Sandoval. In fact, Sandoval only got hit at all because he was swinging the bat, which is probably why the pitch went as a foul ball.

Roger said...

I have always felt that the Giant fans hated the Dodgers more than vice versa. It must be jealously. I always ask a Giants fan how many world series they have won since they moved to the west coast.

I don't agree with some of the SI statements. I am in Central California and feel that both SF and LA have basically the same politics and BOTH have taken water from areas other than their own.

rbnlaw said...

When I want to piss off Giants' fans, I call their fair city, "Frisco." Makes their blood boil.

They really do go to great lengths to stoke the rivalry. Down here, we just drink in the Stadium parking lot. I do like the line about the politics being oppositional. Like I can tell the difference between Gavin Newsome and Antonio Villawhateverhisnameis.