Pillar says he had retribution in mind
You want Kevin Pillar on your team because of his outstanding defence in centre field and the fact that when he gets hot, he’s can handle a bat very well.
And as Sunday’s brawl at Globe Life Park in Arlington showed, you clearly want Pillar on your team because you know he’ll have your back.
Pillar was the first Blue Jays player to charge into the melee on Sunday after his teammate Jose Bautista was punched flush in the jaw by Rangers second baseman Rougned Odor. And he charged right into it, he didn’t stand on the peripheral, tugging on someone’s jersey. He genuinely wanted to get at Odor — who has a history of being punk — and he had no problems letting that be known on Monday.
“Once that punch (by Odor) was thrown, then there was some red in my eyes, I was going out there with intent,” said Pillar. “You sit back on it, you wish you could have done more because in my opinion he got out of there unscathed.”
So what exactly was Pillar’s intent in charging into the crowd of Texas Rangers?
“To get (Odor) back. He got a clean one in. Depending on how you see it, our guy wasn’t necessarily ready for a punch, (so) I was going out there so he can get one back.
“I think everyone in this clubhouse came to the defence of Bautista and obviously it was a long time coming,” added Pillar. “You don’t want to see it escalate to that extent, but in the heat of the moment, you’ve got to do what you think is right. You got to go out there and defend yourself, defend your teammates, and given the circumstances I felt like (Odor) was owed one, and I was going out there to get him.”
That is a statement that really must stick in the craw of those who whine that charging on to the field to defend a teammate “has no place in baseball.” As Pillar — along with Josh Donaldson, Michael Saunders, Edwin Encarnacion and Justin Smoak, etc. — clearly showed, it does have a place in baseball. It happens quite frequently. Guys have to stand up for teammates in the heat of the moment, even if that means watching the defending AL MVP (Donaldson) fly into the brawl as if he were Batman.
“It doesn’t surprise me. That’s who he is,” said manager John Gibbons, when he was asked if his heart went into his throat when he saw Donaldson in the middle of Sunday’s fight. “(But) hey, I’m proud of the guys for going out there and hanging together. That’s the way it’s supposed to be. You never like to see a thing like that, but they do happen. It’s a high testosterone sport.”
Saunders was one of the first guys to charge into the fight on Sunday just like he was one of the first Canadian players to rush to his teammates’ defence during that infamous Canada-Mexico confrontation at the 2013 World Baseball Classic. So you certainly want him on your side when things get nasty.
The feud between the Blue Jays and Rangers — which stems from last year’s bat flip by Bautista during the ALDS series — is over for now. The two clubs won’t meet again until next year, unless they face each other again in the postseason.
For the Blue Jays, the trick is to try to turn Sunday’s unpleasantness into a winning streak. Baseball isn’t hockey. Hammering the other team into submission won’t necessarily give you momentum. The Jays don’t lack camaraderie in the clubhouse; they’re already a close-knit bunch. And brawling won’t stop a bullpen from melting down. But maybe, just maybe, Sunday’s brouhaha will give the Jays a lift, somehow.
“I don’t know if we need it, but it certainly helps. It doesn’t hurt. But any time you have an opportunity to go out there and stick up for teammates, stick up for what you think is right, protect each other, be there for each other, I think no doubt it brings guys closer together,” said Pillar.
The Jays definitely need something. They’re 3-10 in one-run games, a problem they’ve had in recent seasons, and 1-3 in extra inning games. Their bullpen has been unreliable and their vaunted offence has yet to click.
“If you look at our team right now, we’re damn near in position to win every night,” said Gibbons. “(But) we haven’t been able to close out certain games. We’ve had the chance to blow open games, we haven’t done that, which would have helped. Really, that kind of sums it up to this point.”
When asked why they seem to lose too many one-run games, Gibbons quipped: “Other than bad managing?
“We’re not a team that necessarily manufactures runs real well because we don’t have that kind of lineup,” he said, getting serious. “(We don’t have) a lot of team speed where you can generate something with that. We’re known as a slugging team if we’re not slugging, it looks kind of dry.”