Not a no-hitter, but a perfect game
It wasn’t a no-hitter; it was a perfect game.
The Red Sox and Pedro Martinez countered the Devil Rays’ spineless attack of beanballs and fights with nine innings of classy baseball. Pedro could have retaliated after Devil Rays’ pitchers hit three Red Sox batters and threw a fastball over Brian Daubach’s helmet, but he had his eye on the prize. He kept his cool and proved that he virtually unstoppable.
What the Devil Rays did last night was despicable and disgusting. It is tough to decide whether Gerald Williams, the man who Pedro hit with his fourth pitch of the evening, or Tampa Bay manager Larry Rothschild deserves a longer suspension.
Rothschildish, on the otherhand, conducted the war that was yesterday’s game. This twisted individual orchestrated the series of hit batsmen, commanding his pitchers to repeatedly throw at batters, particularly Daubach and Nomar Garciaparra. It is one thing to throw at a guy like they did with Daubach. But you only get one shot at it. The Devil Rays missed Daubach twice last night when they tried to throw at him, then hit him two other times. Who knows what would have happened had Red Sox manager Jimy Williams left Daubach in the game for all nine innings? Rothschildish also began taunting Martinez when he was finally forced back into the dugout. Martinez aptly let a wad of spit flow in Rothschildish’s direction. That’s confidence.
What Frank Robinson wants to do in terms of suspensions for the eight ejectees of Tampa Bay is up to him. To the dismay of many Devil Rays players and coaches, Pedro will receive no disciplinary action. The only thing that Pedro will lose from last night’s game is a couple of Cy Young votes from the Tampa writers.
And why would Pedro be suspended, as certain writers and talk-show hosts have indicated? Pedro didn’t intentionally hit Williams, he tried to bust a tailing fastball in on him to back him off the plate and set him up with a softer breaking pitch away. Hitting charts show that Williams is a sucker for the high and inside pitch, and scouting reports make note that he has a tendency to dive over the plate to reach those outside pitches when he has two strikes on him. Sorry, Larry, but not all hit-by-pitches are intentional. Of course, Rothschildish would know what throwing at a batter looks like; he coordinated the beaning of Daubach on two separate occasions.
Pedro viewed the pitch as a non-factor, at first. He just walked to the mound, not even acknowledging Williams, much less staring down the line at him, challenging him to a fight. Williams started everything. Had he walked down to first base, instead of fueling his bloated ego by charging the mound, none of the theatrics that occurred would have happened.
And now some thoughts . . .
Daubach was the first player on the Sox to jump in and defend Pedro. He took on four Devil Rays, including the psychopathic Roberto Hernandez, who we will get to later. He later showed his class and composure when Devil Rays’ pitchers threw at him four times, hitting him twice and knocking him back or down two other times. He risked his own health (he had to be taken the hospital when he was pulled from the game in the bottom of seventh) to protect the franchise’s prized possession, Pedro Martinez.
Everett also showed some seldom-seen composure, even though the Devil Rays were pitching him inside in the fifth inning. I thought for sure that Everett would explode, as he did back in mid-July at home plate umpire Ronald Kulpa. Everett responded to the Devil Rays’ attack with a double, a triple and two home runs, accounting for six of the Sox’ eight RBIs last night.
Nixon, like Daubach, showed his loyalty to Pedro. While most of the Red Sox players were chatting around the second base bag, Nixon stood perched where the infield dirt met the infield grass, about half way between second and first base. A red-hot “Ice” Williams was standing at first base at the time. Had Williams tried to attack Pedro yet again, Nixon, a former high school football player, would have drilled Williams into oblivion. Also, Nixon went 3 for 5 last night and scored two runs as the team’s leadoff hitter.
Varitek showed his mettle in the game, tackling a fuming Williams. Though some have already unjustly blamed Varitek for not preventing Williams from charging the mound, he handled the situation perfectly. Had he walked down the line with Williams, there would have been no doubt that Pedro had hit Williams intentionally (Varitek has said that Pedro didn’t hit Williams on purpose). How could Varitek have known that Williams would have charged the mound? Pedro was not at fault, it was Williams who acted irresponsibly in the situation and started the night of insanity. Varitek said all the right things after the game, and did everything correctly during the game.
Nomar saves the drama
Rice is still the man
Rice showed who’s boss yesterday when he grabbed Williams after the two team’s were separated after the first brawl. Williams, who was still furious at Pedro, couldn’t attack anyone because Rice was holding him back, thus preventing another serious brawl.
Hernandez escapes scrutiny
Hernandez had gone crazy. If anyone got away with some things yesterday, it was him. He deserves a suspension for fighting and shoving Daubach from behind. If the Red Sox should fear any more dim-witted Devil Rays throwing at their batters, they should fear Hernandez. Hernandez throws 97 miles per hour, is a big guy, he has a considerable ego to feed, and is stupid. And unlike some of the pitchers last night, Hernandez probably has the control to hit one of the Sox’ batters.
If nothing happens tonight, something is bound to happen in the last three games of the season, when the Sox face the Devil Rays in Tropicana Field.
An embarrassment for their organization
But from a Red Sox fan’s perspective, nothing could have been greater. The Red Sox, who have had their character and chemistry questioned many times this year, stuck together and remained poised, not stooping to the immature level of the Devil Rays.
With a tough schedule coming up, including more games in September than there are days, team bonding will become essential in their quest for a postseason berth.
BEN BADLER
Williams, who couldn’t have been more than six inches from the plate when Martinez hit him (wasn’t Carl Everett told something about that a while ago), charged the mound and provoked a bench-clearing brawl that resulted the injuries of two Red Sox players, first baseman Brian Daubach and third baseman Lou Merloni. Williams then refused to leave the field when informed that he had been thrown out of the ballgame, and later came out of the clubhouse in the seventh inning when the benches cleared yet again.
Gerald Williams threw two punches at Pedro Martinez. This one grazed the face of Martinez.
Four players last night earned a lot of respect from me: Daubach, Everett, Trot Nixon and Jason Varitek.
Not much was made of Nomar Garciaparra’s first-inning defensive brilliance. With Jason Tyner on first base (running for the ejected Williams), the Devil Rays put on the hit-and-run. As Pedro delivered, Nomar had to cover second base in case the batter, Miguel Cairo, didn’t hit the ball and there was a throw down to second base. But contact was made by Cairo, toward where Garciaparra originally was standing. Garciaparra had to stop and make a backhanded play on the grounder, then spun and gunned out the speedy Cairo on a bang-bang play at first base. Had Garciaparra not made that play, Pedro would not have had a no-hitter to carry into the ninth inning, because Cairo would have been credited with a base hit.
In his playing days, Jim Rice was always the toughest guy on the field. Not much as changed.
Not much has been made of Roberto Hernandez. Hernandez, who was wailing on Daubach, had accused the Red Sox first baseman of taking “cheap shots” at Williams and other Devil Rays in the pile-up. Replays have shown that nothing went on with Daubach in the brawl. If anyone was taking cheap shots, it was Hernandez, who shoved Daubach from behind, even though he was clearly trying to nurse his sore arm. Hernandez then gave Daubach an intense lecture to show him that he was a real tough guy.
Everyone in the Tampa Bay Devil Rays organization should be embarrassed today. Their manager and numerous players disgraced the young franchise by making a mockery of the game. It is sad when a team feels they have to retaliate so many times, when there is really nothing to retaliate for. Sure, maybe throwing inside once is OK. But you get one shot. Hitting three batters, and coming close multiple other times is a humiliating thing to do. The entire organization should be ashamed of its employees actions on the field.