The Buccos beat the Brewers yesterday for the first time in their last 18 tries. Then, some stuff started. Here’s my brief recap of events:
– Pitcher Jeff Karstens hit Ryan Braun several months agowith a pitch after he hit a homer. Braun was pissed, telling the MLB to watch out for future retribution.
– The Brewers had a chance to hit Karstens that series, but declined.
– Karstens came up to bat in yesterday’s game, and was plunked, causing him to yell at the pitcher.
– Jason Kendall stepped in, and started talking to Karstens, and the Buccos pitching coach took offense to Kendall getting involved.
– Jason Kendall says the following about said pitching coach, Joe Kerrigan:
“It was fine until Dave Kerwin,” Kendall said, referring to Kerrigan. Kendall continued to call Kerrigan by that incorrect name — seemingly on purpose — even after being promptly corrected.
“I can take a lot, but I’m not going to get yelled at,” he continued. “Dave Kerwin started yelling at me….”
When asked what he thought made Kerrigan so mad, Kendall responded: “I don’t know. Dave Kerwin? I have no idea.”
I’m not even sure what that means. If you start talking shit to a Pirates pitcher, who do you think is going to get involved. Far be it from me to expect our pitching coach to stand up for our pitcher, after a game of “When Will They Hit Me With A Pitch?“
But the PG had a little more about Braun:
Karstens hit Braun one at-bat after a home run April 27 at Miller Park and prompted a torrent of venom from Braun the next 48 hours, during which he, among other headline-grabbing comments, warned Bud Selig, Major League Baseball’s commissioner, to pay attention to future meetings between the Brewers and Pirates because of possible retribution.
“Yeah, I had an idea they’d throw at me,” Karstens said last night. “But they had a chance to hit me that day in Milwaukee and didn’t take it. Then, they hit a few of our guys the next day.”
The Brewers hit three Pirates April 28, with no response from the Pirates other than to insist that Karstens did not hit Braun intentionally and that they were moving on.
And, as Karstens noted, he batted right after hitting Braun and struck out without so much as a brushback.
The latter was Pirates manager John Russell’s main beef last night.
“They had a chance to get him the game he pitched,” Russell said. “For them to wait two months or whatever it is, after they hit a bunch of our guys the next day. To wait two or three months… I don’t understand that. They made such a big deal about it, they had their opportunity, and they’re going to wait until they’re getting beat? I don’t understand it.”
Others took issue mostly with Braun.
As Karstens was being interviewed, Young yelled to him from across the clubhouse, “Call him a coward!”
“It’s cheap. Very cheap,” closer Matt Capps said of the incident last night. “We all know Karstens had no intention of hitting Braun in Milwaukee. The whole thing was blown way out of proportion by one guy, and it’s ridiculous. Their whole team is going to let one guy run the morale of their whole team? Hey, that’s their prerogative.”
Braun was not immediately available for comment.
Wuss.
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