Yankee Goes After Teammate

Oh, and obviously from the article Bruney walked back the comment, a smart, creditable thing. So good for him I suppose.

And in fairness to Paps/Joba/whoever, KRod’s theatrics are in a completely different league.
Yup.

The only difference here was that Bruney was calling him out for the fistpump and celebration before his team actually won….which they didnt!

It seems like more and more closers had premeditated, well thought out routines when they do in fact get a save. You can now add Brian Wilson to that list. It’s a fine line, but I am ok with the “in the heat of the moment” show of emotion. It’s the the planned out acts that drive me nuts. It reminds me of Ocho Cinco and his many different famous celebrations. In the Torre book A-Rod gets criticized for visibly pointing out the location of the OF’s when he’s on 2B as a runner. Most players will turn, look and make note of where the guys are. The criticism in the book was that Alex needed people to see that he was a smart player, so he would point. K-Rod’s celebration reminds me of just that. It’s great that he thanks God after every save. I am not a holy roller, but that’s a great sentiment, the only problem is do 50,000 people need to see you do it?

I think that’s one problem with K-Rod is that it has nothing to do with god, it has everything to do with K-Rod getting attention. The word “theatrics” is very accurate: most of the time he falls to his knees, lifts his head up and throws both hands towards the heavens. It’s like an over-zealous preacher screaming “I HAVE BEEN HEALED!” And this isn’t just after saves, it’s after every appearance!
Papi points to the sky and “thanks god” when crossing the plate after every homer, but it’s quick and subtle.
Two glaring instances that I remember were from last year in the ALDS: K-Rod allowed a go-ahead homer to Drew in the 9th inning of Game 2, then does his routine after getting a double-play three batters later. The next game he loads the bases in the 10th before Jed Lowrie hit a hard line-drive to the outfield, which was caught for the third out. He dropped to his knees, screamed to the heavens, then jogged back to the dugout.
Both times his team lost, but before the game was over he was celebrating like they won the world series. The fact that the Red Sox won both games made it all the more glaring.

Of course Joba has proven he doesn’t really belong in this group. He can get more than 3 outs in one appearance!

I believe Ortiz has said he is paying homage to his Mother, who passed away early in his career, when he does that after touching home plate.
Either way athletes do bring A LOT of the Lord with them. I once heard Mike Timlin say in a Radio interview that on days he was pitching well he knew he was channeling God, so there’s that.

Mike Timlin channeling God. And here I was thinking God is great.

“Paps, Joba, and K-Rod all share some things, which is intense self-confidence, brashness, and energy”
And an inability to control one’s emotions. Whatever else you might call it, it is either that or it is pre-meditated. It isn’t something to go crazy about, but it makes opponents and certainly opposing fans that much happier when they get shown up. Bruney just articulated what probably most of the league and opposing team fans thinks about all three of those guys. Yes, it was good to backtrack. Doesn’t make it any less true.

Wait, so Beckett never shows excitement, energy, brashness, etc on the mound?

Again, I think the word “act” implies that the gesticulations are of primary importance and not the in-game performance, that the gesticulations are calculated and planned, and I am pretty certain that is not the case, with any of these guys. They may have been at one point, maybe with K-Rod, but even then I am not sure. In K-Rod’s case, I would venture that what he does has become habit, and that’s that. It’s not done for a reason other than for himself. I don’t think he does what he does because he’s trying to brand himself, or to further his recognizability. The proposition that this is an “act” means it is completely insincere. It isn’t. It may be annoying, misguided (at times), misappropriated (at times), unsportsmanlike (at times), but I don’t think it is phony and disingenuous.
As for Beckett – congratulations Rob, you win the Goodwin prize.

“I believe Ortiz has said he is paying homage to his Mother, who passed away early in his career, when he does that after touching home plate.”
Makes me feel better about it, actually. Thanks.

Beckett is pretty stoic on the mound from what I have seen.
Personally, I think David Cone had the best take on it during the YES broadcast yesterday…basically he said there’s going to be some players who annoy you for whatever, but it’s best to keep it between the lines and not go through the media like Bruney did (he likened what Bruney did to what Papi said about Joba through the media earlier in the year). I agree with that. Settle it on the field.
And FWIW I have no problem with guys celebrating on the field as long as it’s not showing another player up. Frankly I don’t think Joba, Paps, or K-Rod fall into that category.

Lastly I’d like thank A.Josh Buckett..
Except for those times when his team really needs him. Like, the playoffs for instance.
I think Brian Bruney should keep his mouth shut about such things, at least until he’s able to stay on the mound for more than a month.
If I were a Yankee fan, I’d be more infuratied with the other part of that interview when Kim Jones asked him if when he says “I feel good” is any different than the last time he said “I feel good”, to which he responded “I was lying last time”.
Kudos for admitting you are a liar, Brian, but why put the team’s efforts on a bad arm and selfish attitude?

“why put the team’s efforts on a bad arm and selfish attitude?”
I’ve seen nothing from Bruney from Spring 2008 to today to indicate a selfish attitude. The guy had an attitude problem in Arizona that he has talked about with impressive candor and self-criticism. He then backed up the rheoric by dropping serious pounds in the ’08 off-season and clearly working hard to live up to his potential. He was very good last year and in the appearances he has been able to make this year.
If saying he feels good when in fact he is hurting is an indication of selfishness than Derek Jeter is the most selfish player in the league.

Obviously I don’t know Big Papi well, but between his on-and-off-field demeanor, his statements to the press, and all of the various profiles (TV and print) I’ve heard or seen of him, I’ve not seen anything to suggest that he is anything but a good, happy-go-lucky, decent guy. I can’t say the same of most ballplayers who have had anything like the exposure he has.

I agree completely, Brad. It infuriated me last year when Pettite basically admitted that he was hurt down the stretch but wouldn’t say anything because he felt like “the team needed him.” Yeah, the team needs you healthy!
And based on his last 4 starts (and the fact that we have 6 SPs for 5 slots) I’m beginning to suspect he’s repeating that behavior again this year.

Yeah, but most of Damon’s injuries are to his head and he doesn’t really use that most of the time anyway…

The point re: pitcher-injuries being different from other player-injuries is a good one but a couple things should be pointed out:
1. It is a fallacy to think pitchers need to be at or near 100%, especially as they get older. If you believe what any number of major league pitchers say, they are rarely at or even near 100% once the season gets going and they learn how to pitch with pain – the difference between pain and injury and between the kind of pain or injury you can still pitch effectively around and the kind that should make you sit down might seem crystal clear to those of us pontificating from the stands, but I doubt it is so clear to players, managers, etc. If pitching near 100% or at your optimal velocity were required, David Cone would rarely have pitched during the years that he was the rock of the Yankee rotation.
2. As this conversation started around an accusation that Brian Bruney has somehow been selfish in this regard – pitching when he shouldn’t have and therfore hurting his team – it has to be pointed out that this is patently false. The guy appeared in 10 games this year. He gave up a cumulative total of 3 hits in that time and 3 ER, the first two of which he picked up in his first appearance of the year on April 6 – i.e. not when he was coming back from any injury. In fact, what happened with him is the opposite of selfishly pitching through an injury (if there is such a thing). He told the organization upon starting to throw again off the DL that although the MRI had shown nothing, it hurt to throw his breaking ball so they shut him down a second time until he could throw without pain. Now he’s coming back and hopefully will become again the mainstay of the 8th inning for the Yanks.