AMUSING UNWRITTEN-RULE INFRACTIONS

http://weblogs.baltimoresun.com/sports/orioles/blog/2011/03/fox_draws_ire_of_both_managers.html

Orioles catcher Jake Fox hit his Grapefruit League-leading 10th home run today in the Orioles 14-9 rout of the Detroit Tigers at Ed Smith Stadium. However, he left a pretty poor impression on both managers because of one sequence in the eighth inning.

The Orioles had runners on second and third and no outs in the eighth inning today when Fox came to the plate against Tigers minor leaguer Chance Ruffin. The most important aspect of this story is the score was 13-3 at the time, and both teams had subbed out most of their regulars. Ruffin started the at-bat with three straight balls, but Fox decided to take a rip at a 3-0 pitch in a clear take situation.

It certainly qualified as a breach of baseball etiquette. Swinging 3-0 in a 10-run game with no outs in the eighth inning with a minor league pitcher on the mound is a decent way to make sure you get a fastball in the ribs in your next at-bat. The average fan may not think it was a big deal but Orioles manager Buck Showalter and Tigers manager Jim Leyland certainly did.

Showalter angrily yanked off his hat, and was seen yelling in the home dugout to anyone in particular. His hat off the whole time, he kept shaking his head and muttering throughout the rest of Fox's at-bat, which resulted in a walk Leyland, meanwhile, yelled at Fox from the top step of the dugout.

When Fox was removed for a pinch runner, Showalter made sure that he was one of the first people to meet him in the dugout and he gave him an earful. The Orioles manager was still fuming about it after the game as it apparently wasn't the first time this spring where Fox ignored a clear take situation.

Fox is obviously going to make this team, but I'm guessing that it's things like this that Showalter, a big proponent of playing the game right, is not going to tolerate in the long run.

jheah SPRING TRAINING MVP JAKE FOXXXXXXXXXXXxx

http://www.tampabay.com/sports/baseball/rays/tampa-bay-rays-manager-joe-maddon-calls-detroit-tigers-barking-over-sean/1187886

As odd as the ending to Wednesday's game was, manager Joe Maddon said it couldn't have been more fitting that Sean Rodriguez's extreme hustle was the key to the Rays' win.

That's because Tuesday, Rodriguez was getting yelled at by Detroit starter Brad Penny and possibly some other Tigers for hustling too much running hard on an infield pop out.

"For anybody to bark at another player for … hustling is absolutely insane, ludicrous,'' Maddon said. "And if Sean had just charged the mound, I'd have been fine with that at that particular moment.

"I think that's ridiculous, and then he shows them (Wednesday) what that means to play hard. So any time a guy gets on another guy because he's going to show him up by playing too hard, I have a hard time with that myself, personally.''

It does not surprise me at all that Brad Penny thinks hustling is offensive.

OK, n/m:

http://beck.mlblogs.com/2011/08/25/penny-takes-issue-with-maddons-comments/

Penny said Thursday morning that was totally false. His problem with Rodriguez, he said, was with his yelling in frustration while he rounded first base.

“He’s just screaming and cussing because he got out,” Penny said. “I guess he should’ve hit the ball out of the park like he does every at-bat.”

Rodriguez entered Thursday batting .213 with five home runs this season.

“He’s screaming [curse words],” Penny continued. “Well, what are you supposed to do, hit every ball out of the park? Come on. To me, that’s a sign of disrespect if you scream it that loud. I mean, you don’t have to go out of your way. All these kids can hear you. It’s not too loud in here. So to me, that’s not being professional.

“Why would I get on somebody for not hustling? That’s the stupidest thing I ever heard. I love when guys hustle. I may get on them for not hustling, maybe — not their guy, our guys. I have no problem with hustle.”

http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseball/cubs/ct-spt-0907-cubs-nationals-chicago--20120907,0,2769533.story

The incidents began after the Nationals took a 7-2 lead after four innings. With the bases loaded and two outs in the fifth, Jayson Werth swung at a 3-0 pitch, starting Quirk's shouting to Porter. Crew chief Jerry Layne said Quirk was "screaming out obscenities (to Porter and) I just felt that was inappropriate and that's what caused everything."

Porter left his coaching box and walked over to the dugout steps, screaming at Quirk.

Quirk declined to comment, but plans to defend himself strenuously during Major League Baseball's investigation.

"You're up 7-2 … you don't swing 3-0 in that situation," Clevenger said.

Do not steal third while up five in the seventh (against the Red Sox)

http://cdn2.vox-cdn.com/assets/4511287/Screen_Shot_2014-05-26_at_9.33.17_AM.png

http://www.espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/10964445/mlb-baseball-confusing-contradictory-unwritten-rules

how DARE someone not hit into a shift http://espn.go.com/dallas/mlb/story/_/id/11237346/colby-lewis-texas-rangers-problem-colby-rasmus-bunt

Is Lewis really sure that he wants someone to "swing the bat" against his pitching?

wow that's the dumbest one yet

like unwritten rules do exist in baseball and generally they shouldn't be broken. but that's not one of them