Last night, Sidney Ponson, showing an IQ as low as his weight is high, plunked the White Sox' Brian Anderson and Pablo Ozuna back to back with the bases loaded. It was a bush league move by a pitcher and team getting whooped soundly. And though he denied any involvement - wink wink, nudge, nudge - it should be noted that this type of garbage is a Tony LaRussa trademark.
So The Sox' David Riske responded by plunking the Cards' Chris Duncan - nice touch getting the son of the Cards pitching coach, by the way - and both he and Ozzie were ejected. Ain't that some bullshit? The Sox did nothing but beat up on one of the best teams in baseball, then were attacked by said team, and they get guys tossed (not to mention the likely suspensions)? Total garbage. Of course, local media dimwits (Jay Mariotti) as well as the national media will try to portray this as another example of Ozzie losing his cool and somehow proving himself unfit for the job. So predictable.
Total garbage.
If anything summed up the entire scene, it occurred after Riske was ejected. Ozzie began his walk out to meet the umps, tossed his arms in the air as if to say, "Fuck it. I can't win" and headed back to the dugout.
The amazing thing is that other than A.J. Pierzynski and his infamous reputation, the Sox really are a collection of guys who would be adequately summed up as being really, really nice. They're all swell fellas. Quiet. Unassuming. No egos. Think about it. Paul Konerko. Jim Thome. Jermaine Dye. Joe Crede. Mark Buehrle. Tadahito Iguchi. The list goes on. They're all the type of guys who wouldn't say a bad word about anyone and probably roam the streets in case there are any little, old ladies who need help carrying groceries or crossing intersections. And yet, teams choose to respond to getting their behinds handed to them by beaning Sox players.
Total garbage.
I'm not complaining. The Sox players don't need me or anyone else to fight their battles for them. They do a fine job of that on their own simply by winning games. But I'm already cringing at what the schmucks in the media, most of whom cluelessly chase the average cliche or the beaten-to-death-already story, will say about this somehow being Ozzie's fault. (Yes, we get it already. Ozzie is crazy. Write about something else already.)
Listen, stop throwing at Sox players unprovoked and Ozzie will be just fine. This isn't rocket science.
Needless to say, I haven't failed to overlook the beauty of last night's 20-run explosion. Awesome. Just awesome. The best part was that recent Sox first round draft pick, Kyle McCulloch, was in the radio booth being interviewed during the third inning when the Sox erupted for eleven runs. It was a good chance for him to see how we roll on the South Side.
