I am the first one to admit that I am biased. I am now and always have been a die-hard Phillies fan. I have moved the around a lot and even lived in San Francisco. I moved back here however in 1996 to rejoin my family and cheer for my favorite hometown teams. In the past few years the Phillies have edged out the Eagles as my top choice for local sports teams. Ok, by edged out I mean pushed and shoved sort of like the men involved in last nights brouhaha.
Let me start from the beginning. The Giants scored first and took a 1 – 0 lead in to the fourth inning. Shane Victorino went yard however and hit a ball just right of the foul line in left field to tie up the game at 1. The inning ended with a 4-1 lead for the Phillies.
Now lets get down to the heart of the story. By the time Victorino came up to the plate in the 6th the score was 8 -2 Phillies. They (the Phillies) had batted around in the top of the inning and scored three runs already. They had two men on base and if my count is correct that puts one dozen men in team uniforms in a stones throw of the pitching mound.
You factor in the umpires and we have enough men within striking distance for things to get ugly. That is exactly what it got was ugly. Giants’ pitcher Ramon Ramirez hit Victorino with the first pitch and that is when all Hell broke loose. The benches were cleared the bullpens too and soon there was chaos.
In the end three players were ejected. The ejected three were aforementioned Giants Pitcher Ramon Ramirez, as well as Shane Victorino, and Giants catcher Eli Whiteside. Remember boys and girls the catcher is the one who calls for the pitches. He not only knows the speed and type of pitch coming he knows the destination too. Anybody can tell he (Whiteside) knew what was coming by the speed at which he reacted.
The Flyin’ Hawaiian or Great Gazoo as I like to call him was anything but great. As any Phillies fan knows he has a temper. Well guess what he proved it last night. First and foremost he continued to shove the home plate umpire in to the center of the brawl as the fight ensued.
Mike Muchinski (the home plate umpire) had him covered from the start of the incident. Muchinski was on the ball. He blocked Victorino’s path the entire time. That did not stop Shane from pushing and shoving him in to the mallae. As any ball player knows you don’t so much as touch the umpire much less push and shove him.
That was not the only person Shane out muscled. Once in the center of the brawl Charlie Manuel got a hold of his center fielder. The Flyin’ Hawaiian lived up to his nickname and out hustled Charlie. He (Victorino) broke out of the coach’s grip and went for the jugular. (I mean figuratively of course.)
Well Shame on you Shane. First of all you never so much as touch and umpire. They are the game officials and only non-prejudiced men on the field of play. They double as the peacemakers or police officers in such an incident and you should never mess with a police officer.
Secondly he broke out of Manuel’s grasp too. The 67-year-old Charlie Manuel in not only the resigning manger of the year he is also the father-figure of your team. How dare you disobey him! Shane should be benched for the rest of the series. That will give him a time to cool down and teach him a lesson.
Who was truly to blame for last night’s incident? I’ll let the stats tell the story. Since the Giants won the series in Philly by winning the last two games they have faltered. They are 3-7 in the last ten games, they lost their last 7 out 0f 8. The Giants record in the east is 9-15.
On the other hand the Phillies swept both series so far on their west coast trip, they are 17-7 in the west and still have the best record in baseball. They are riding out their longest winning streak of the season at 8 games and continue to be red hot. Their struggling offence seems to be fixed and they have not lost a game since acquiring Hunter Pence from Houston. Who by the way has hit two homers in two games in the city by the bay.
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