Here is the bunt that broke up the @GoYardGoats no-hit bid in the 9th. What does Hartford starter Rico Garcia think of it? 👉 https://t.co/JKJTmZDBEb pic.twitter.com/24r6ZHwEj4— Minor League Baseball (@MiLB) June 5, 2019
Mike Rosenstein, NJ.com:
Trenton Thunder outfielder Matt Lipka found himself thrust into the national spotlight Tuesday night, when he bunted with one out in the top of the ninth inning to break up a no-hitter by the Hartford Yard Goats, the Eastern League affiliate of the Colorado Rockies. ...You can't "speak for what he was trying to do"? Really? Can you be that stupid (or obtuse)?
Lipka received death threats on social media following Tuesday's game. The Thunder are the Double-A affiliate of the New York Yankees. ...
The Thunder lost the game, 3-0, and Lipka's bunt up the first base line was the only hit by Trenton. Generally speaking, the unwritten code in baseball frowns upon players bunting to break up no-hitters. And the Yard Goats took exception to Lipka's hit, with the benches clearing after the game. ...
Lipka was batting with his team down by just three runs in the ninth inning. If he gets on base, Lipka turns over the lineup and gives the Thunder a chance at rallying. So Lipka, as the No. 9 hitter, bunting for a base hit can be justified as legitimate baseball strategy. ...
Yard Goats pitcher Rico Garcia threw six no-hit innings, striking out 11, before turning the game over to the bullpen. With one out in the top of the ninth inning, Lipka faced Yard Goats closer Ben Bowden, and laid down a bunt.
After the game, the Yard Goats were peeved. Per MILB.com: "It is what it is," Garcia said. "[Lipka] was doing what he had to do. And we were really passionate about getting the no-hitter. It is what it is. I can't really speak for what he was trying to do or what he was trying to accomplish. ..."
I have never heard of Lipka before, but I know exactly what he was trying to do. (And so do you, Rico, because you said five seconds earlier he "was doing what he had to do": Get on base and help his team win the game! It's the same thing he does in every at-bat in every game.)
These unwritten rules are such bullshit. You know why they are "unwritten"? Because they don't exist! They have no real connection to the game. Even as opinions, they are not objective. They vary depending on who you are talking to. "You can steal second base if your team is up by three runs, but not by four runs (unless it's before the seventh inning)."
We've all seen crazy, improbably comebacks, and even if we haven't, a team should never stop trying to win. (And managers should never apologize for their team scoring runs. Yes, it still rankles me 16 years later.) Bunting is not against the actual rules, so you can obviously do it whenever you want.
I support Matt Lipka 100%.
How is it that competitors can say with a straight face, "I'm trying as hard as I can to do something against you, but you shouldn't try as hard as you can to do something against me"?
ReplyDeleteI understand being angry in the heat of the moment, but the game was over and you've had time to cool down before talking to the press. Be a professional. Admit you're frustrated, but don't be an idiot.
ReplyDeleteI agree; this is one of these "unwritten rules" that is utter bullcrap. Regardless of whether it's 1-0, 3-0, or 10-0, the objective of every team is to WIN THE GAME. As you point out, if his bunt hit is followed by a few more hits, the game might be tied.
ReplyDeleteI'm sure I've stated this previously, but I was at the game that followed the 25-8 pasting of the Marlins at Fenway. I subsequently watched a comfortable 9-2 lead after seven shrink to a 9-6 lead after eight and become a 10-9 deficit in the ninth that eventually ended in a loss for the Sox. That was hard to swallow.
I was at the game that followed the 25-8 pasting of the Marlins at Fenway.
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure if I knew that. That fucking game ... I have NEVER been more filled with rage both during and after a game. After hearing the manager apologize for his team's behaviour the previous night and then go out of his way to prevent his team from scoring more runs when they were up 9-2 - which lead directly to the loss - jesus christ, that fucking grinning moron.
Go here and read July 1, 2003 (pre-JoS blogging!, at the bottom). It includes this:
"Just when I think Grady Gump can't piss me off any more than he has already, he shows me I have underestimated him. The day after the Red Sox routed the Florida Marlins 25-8, Grady Little offered an apology to Marlins manager Jack McKeon (and a half-hearted one to the press) for scoring so many gosh durn runs: "There's a right and wrong way to play the game and I feel we didn't play the game the right way totally." ... I thought scoring runs was what baseball teams are supposed to do. ...
Red Sox principal owner John Henry agreed: "If we're supposed to stop trying to score, we should just put up a disclaimer on the scoreboard: 'You should go home now, we're not trying anymore.' You've got people giving up their Friday night to be at the ballpark, spending a couple of hundred bucks, and we're supposed to stop playing? ... I guarantee you every fan in the ballpark was wishing for 30 runs, just so they could say they were there to witness history." ...
The next day on NESN, Jerry Remy said Grady felt worse after the 25-8 win than he did after blowing three leads to the Phillies. ... Sadly, Gump wasn't alone in his idiocy. Third base coach Mike Cubbage admitted he gave Florida extra outs. "It's a fine line. Guys want to score for the hitter. I kind of regret sending Walker. But it was a chance for outs, and they were having a hard time getting outs." (Boston's 14-run first inning ended with an easy out at the plate, also.) Isn't helping the opposing team record outs similar to throwing a game?
And whether he meant to or not, [Florida manager Jack] McKeon may have suckered Gump into keeping the score down the next day. On Saturday, Boston led 9-2 with two outs in the 7th inning. Johnny Damon was on first base and the Marlins were not holding him on. Gump did not tell Damon to steal second. Wouldn't want to make my buddy Jack mad. So Damon stayed put. Then the Marlins scored four runs in the 8th, four more in the 9th (thanks to poor bullpen management by Gump), and won the game 10-9. Kevin Millar said he wanted to puke ..."
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