Rizzo wrong, Padres right to keep peace
San Diego Padres fans have plenty to be upset about.
The Padres, at 29-44, have the third-worst record in Major League Baseball, and appear to be years from fielding a competitive team in the NL West.
So, it’s understandable that the Padres faithful would be a grumpy bunch, but San Diego Union-Tribune columnist Kevin Acee says it’s wrong to pile on Manager Andy Green for not ordering a Tuesday night hit on Anthony Rizzo.
Rizzo, the Chicago Cubs’ AllStar first baseman, slammed into and injured Padres catcher Austin Hedges in an attempt to knock the ball out of Hedges’ hands in the sixth inning of Monday night’s game, eventually won by the Cubs, 3-2. The Padres were leading 2-1 at the time.
Green was livid after the game, saying that Rizzo’s hit on Hedges was a cheap shot, that he had deliberately diverted his path to hit Hedges, in violation of a 2014 MLB rule designed to protect catchers, and made it sound as if there was going to be retribution the next day when Rizzo stepped into the batter’s box.
Then, Green went on the radio Tuesday afternoon and pretty much admitted there would be no retaliation, even after MLB had found Rizzo guilty of violating the rule.
To make matters worse for Padres’ fans, Rizzo hit a home run Tuesday on Jhoulys Chacin’s second pitch, fueling the fire of ire for Padres fans who wanted Rizzo’s blood. The Cubs went on to a 4-0 victory.
“This is what I’ve always asked: What do you accomplish by hitting somebody?” Green said Tuesday. “You accomplish nothing. You put a man on first base, and you give them an opportunity to win a baseball game. … You don’t, all of a sudden, gain the high, moral ground because you chose to retaliate. You don’t, all of a sudden, get to pound your chest because you were man enough to throw a ball at somebody’s back. I think it’s absolutely asinine to even take that approach.” Green, Acee wrote, is not soft. “Come on, no one that short [Green is 5 feet 9 inches] can do what he has done, playing in the majors, and be soft.
“He would, in fact, beat the tar out of most of the keyboard pugilists that believe he lacks a spine.
“Fortunately for them, Green doesn’t believe in retaliation.”
Trade buzz
NBA players will occasionally jump on Twitter to answer fans’ questions about various subjects.
With the NBA Draft approaching and trade rumors heating up, center Dwight Howard decided to host a Q&A session Tuesday, in which he addressed some of the proposed trades.
“Ok Twitter Fans, give me your thoughts, trades or otherwise & Remember 2B-Nice,” Howard tweeted to begin the Q&A.
Little did he know that one of the trades he’d be asked about would involve himself.
Just five minutes after Howard started fielding questions on Twitter, reports surfaced that he had been traded from the Atlanta Hawks to the Charlotte Hornets.
Details later surfaced that Howard had been traded along with the 31st pick in Thursday’s NBA Draft for Miles Plumlee, Marco Belinelli and the 41st pick. Fans, of course, had a field day with this information and bombarded Howard with comments about the trade.
Howard answered only one trade question — regarding Indiana Pacers guard Paul George — before ending the Q&A session.
“It’s just another reminder that in the social media age, sometimes the fans get the news at the same time as the players involved,” Colin Ward-Henninger wrote for CBSSports.com.