SU was going to give its take on the fracas between Jose Bautista and Odor of the Rangers. But active SU commenter, S. Goldman, beat me to the punch and weighed in today with the following:
“All is quiet at SU despite signs of a continued resurgence in the Bronx and the Toronto/Texas brawl. A few things about the brawl:
1) Texas very well may have tried to hit Bautista as retaliation for a bat flip in the playoffs. This is more or less in line with the unwritten rules we often hear about although I’m now learning that the unwritten rulebook has as a subchapter on this that indicates the retaliation should happen early in the series rather than late in the game on getaway day. I have little patience for all of this, mostly because MLB has been policing this for years in a way that is about as effective as can be expected. People still get hit but it rarely gets out of hand with retaliation after retaliation. In any case, it was late in a close game and getting a free trip to 1st base is valuable in its own right.
2) Bautista’s slide into second was just wrong. It was not quite Chase Utley bad because it was actually a slide but it was a slide that pretty much began after passing the base. Middle infielders should have to deal with hard slides but they should be comfortable knowing that the slides are headed towards (not away from) 2nd base. The rules could be clearer on this and it doesn’t have to be about feet first or no roll blocks or whatever. The slide can be hard but it has to be towards the base. Period. Anything else results in an out at 1st base. And I’d give Bautista the same suspension given to Utley, especially if his motivation was to hurt more than to break up the double play.
3) We can’t pretend to know what athletes are really like as people. But maybe this shows us that those who were offended by Bautista’s bat flips were onto something. You might say the same thing about those that were offended by Bryce Harper. I don’t know if baseball needs to be made fun again but, if so, maybe we can find some better guys to do it.
4) Compared to Bautista or Harper, I know even less about Odor but his reaction was truly ugly. I don’t know if he’s nastier than the next guy in a fight or if he just got lucky to connect with a punch (where others rarely do). In any case, a fist to the jaw is not the image MLB wants to be associated with (other than the attention and clicks it draws on their sites and apps) and he’s going to see a pretty hefty fine and suspension as well.”
SU is not a Bautista fan. I am not “sold” on his sudden power resurgence at the later stages of his career. I hated the bat flip in the playoffs as I am clearly old school and not into showing up the opponent. I saw the videotape of his slide and he was intent on hurting someone there. I must admit: that was a great punch by Odor – you never, ever see a sports fight have such a direct hit on a punch. It’s bad for baseball’s image and you certainly don’t want youngsters thinking that is the right thing to do. But…. it was amazing how everything went flying there. The reality is that guys like Bautista and Big Papi never get thrown at or hit. They comfortably stand right on the plate and no-one moves them back. Big Papi trots around the bases in about 28 seconds and Bautista does his elaborate bat flips and twirls. The Rangers’ pitcher hit him in the side. True, last at bat was not the best timing I suppose but not the worst thing. It was a bad brawl but it does add some bad blood and spice to the rivalry. Yankees – Red Sox could sure use some of that.
Scientists have been weighing in on Chase Headley’s 9 for 27 homestand with a couple of homeruns and a few rbis. The laws of Physics are definitely involved here as well as probability. SU believes it’s a clever Stephen Drew ploy. Just when it looks like you will be released, you get a few hits and keep the lions at bay. Let’s see if he can sustain it. Mark Texeiria is next on the SU hit parade. No doubt he will get it going on this road trip. 7-3 homestand was huge. SU is still not sold.
Finally, Mets and Nats in an early season showdown. They are coming off a lousy road trip but SU believes it’s just the ups and downs of a long season.
Sports Update Intergalactic 
Elevated from the comments to the body of a post. What an honor.
Talk radio yesterday and this morning was focused on how the incident is good for baseball. Ratings jump for all the talk and analysis. Clicks on articles and videos. The next Rangers/Toronto game will be a must watch event. Maybe this is all true but I don’t believe it is good for baseball. Along with Sports Center, Baseball Tonight, highlight reels, etc. this event will stimulate the public but also provide a false sense of what goes on during a baseball game. Sure, we’ll all tune in for the next Rangers/Toronto game and, if we’re expecting someone to get punched in the jaw we’re going to be disappointed. This is the true problem for baseball’s popularity over the past 20 years ago. The gap between the game experience and the highlight reel is just too great.
Football highlight reels include a defensive stop, a big tackle, a good run, a nice catch. Tune into a game and you will see each of these within a couple minutes. Virtually any football play could be part of a highlight real with the proper Chris Berman narration. Want to see someone knocked to the ground? Good. It happens ever single play. Basketball is similar. Want to see someone score? There you go. There you go again. Baseball just doesn’t work that way. Neither does hockey or soccer. Talk about failed sports? Boxing suffers the same problem. The stuff we’re accustomed to seeing during the highlights just doesn’t happen on a regular basis.
Tune into the NFL and the next thing you’ll see is someone getting tackled. Tune into MLB and the next thing you see might be a soft throw to first or a batter calling for time. If baseball wants to market itself better it needs to tailor the image to reflect the game rather than the other way around. Want to see a bat flip? Well, you probably won’t this game. Want to see some player showboating to make the game fun again? Chances are you’ll just see them standing around scratching themselves.
There is some hope. With all the coverage you can find some detailed analysis of Bautista’s slide into 2nd. That’s the type of thing that happens all the time and the fun is analyzing the situation. Go into a baseball game looking to analyze countless variables for each situation and you won’t be disappointed. Go into a baseball game looking for a punch in the face and you will be.