Vincente Padilla and everything else that went wrong

For Ozzie to demand that he hit Blalock in his third major league appearance, with Tracey knowing fully well that failure will be seen as a direct disobeyance of orders and also a feeling of letting down his new teammates, is just a terrible decision and not even the right pitcher to ask if he must have it done.

Ozzie fucked up big time.  At least his tough-guy, no nonsense persona is still intact.  :/

From not seeing it, my thoughts:

a)  Grow Up, Ozzie:  If AJ doesn't get hit twice, the Sox have nearly half as many baserunners in the game.

b)  Don't have a young pitcher with control problems go in there and be your whipping boy to bean someone.

c)  Sending him down is dumb.  That kind of thing can shatter a kids confidence.  I'm guessing Tracey will be traded.

d)  Padilla isn't very good and he threw 8 shut out innings.  I'd be more angry about that, and the 3rd inning failure of Iguchi, Thome & Konerko more than the two beanings.

A lot of talk on the radio this morning has been that Ozzie most likely was pissed at Vazquez but couldn't give him the same treatment as Tracey.

Sending a kid with that little experience out to throw at someone is ignorant.

Ozzie dressing the kid down in front of the team and then sending him to the minors...for effectivley GETTING AN OUT most likely ruined the kid.  And if not he is likely to be traded where he will probably become a stud in a year or two for some other team.

It also frightens me that the Sox just can't seem to close out any sweeps this year (yes I know they have a few)...They just don't seem to have the same mentality of going out and finishing teams off in that third game.

I love the Sox, and I appreciate Ozzie and everything he did last year and the start of this year...

But something ain't right with this team...and I worry it's far worse than our record indicates.

1. Ozzie knew retaliation would result in a suspension for himself and whoever threw the pitch, because both benches had been warned.  So, having decided to retaliate in this game(dumb, I agree), who does he need the least?  I think he picked the right guy, the one he only trusts in mop-up roles.
2. When Tracey couldn't/wouldn't hit Blalock, Ozzie got the red-ass and I don't blame him.  Tracey was brought in for ONE PITCH and either refused his assignment or couldn't complete it.  Cause for demotion?  Maybe, maybe not, but it's Ozzie's decision.  Too bad he can't explain it to us.

Cheat, not saying you're wrong or overreacting.  Also not blindly defending Ozzie (as some are blindly throwing HIM under the bus in this thread), just trying to see other perspectives.

I agree with Cheat and shaftr, this is ridiculous. It's not how a winning team or organization handles things.

1. Ozzie's handling of Tracey is criminal. So Tracy failed to hit batter. He has terrible control and was probably worried about nailing Blalock in the head instead of someplace less dangerous. So Ozzie effectively waives the Sox most "big league" arm at AAA out of the organization over this. All the money and development time spent on Tracey is wasted over one at-bat. I hope Tracey makes it in big leagues someplace, and hopefully he'll have a manager that isn't an idiot.
2. Padilla is obviously "retaliating" for Vazquez hitting so many Rangers in his last start. Either let it go at that, or Vazquez should take care of things himself.
3. There are significant problems with this team. The 2 holes at the bottom of the lineup and the lack of a set up man are pretty much agreed on. The starting pitchers have not been good this year, outside of Contreras. Garcia, Vazquez, and Garland in particular have been pretty bad (I know, JV has had some decent games, but overall I'm not impressed).

I wouldn't be upset if Ozzie got suspended over this.
 

How can that line up just "not hit" on certain days? They make mediocre pitchers look like Cy Young.

Ozzie publicly humiliating Tracey is an embarrassment to the organization.

Also, I'm glad I missed Hawk's tirade.  I dislike him enough as it is.  Between Keith Hernandez's "no women in the dugout" and Hawk's discussion of vengeance and I feel that a few jobs should have been loss.

1. Everybody was pretty sure that when AJ got plunked the first time that it wasn't an accident.
2. A warning should have been issued then. Or Padilla should not have been warned, but ejected, after the plunking in the 4th.
3. Vazquez should have plunked somebody in the bottom of the 2nd.
4. Once the benches were warned, Ozzie should have called off any retaliation due to the suspensions he (not so worried about) and the pitcher (3-5 games I think) would have received almost (if not entirely) automatically.
5. The talk about AJ not being liked or respected enough for his teammates to atone for the beanings is bull. All you need to remember is Pods taking down Barrett and BA doing his best Pedro Martinez-on-Zim on Mabry. This is a Vazquez issue. Tracey tried, but couldn't get it done.
6. Maybe they thought Tracey's awful control would give plausible deniability when Blalock got plunked. Either way, that's a hell of a situation to put a kid in. And to dress him down in front of the entire team is weak. It ain't easy to hit anyone, especially when you'd like not to maim or kill them by hitting them in the head. How often does a pitcher have a hard time THROWING A STRIKE--in the zone he has been taught to throw to his entire life, let alone at somebody?
7. People need to start hitting the ball--I mean you, middle of the order--with runners in scoring position. Hitting the ball and driving in runs doesn't allow for these types of situations to get out of hand with a middle of the road guy like Padilla.
8. I heard that Tracey looked like he was crying on the bench. He knows Ozzie is a hothead. But you can't let 'em see you sweat like that. Go in the clubhouse and throw something. Or scream. Just don't cry.

But come on now. We don't have it because we can't complete sweeps?? Ozzie looks either too complacent, too domineering, or too dumb this season??  Ozzie ball is pretty much gone away??

Are you guys serious? We have the 2nd best record in the AL. We are on pace to win 100 games! In the big picture of the 162 game season this will just be a small blip on the radar.  

"Every time I see a kid in the clubhouse, I ask whose it is, and it's always Uribe's. Maybe he has 20, I don't know. ... I don't know what kind of kid you're going to be when you're born on 6-6-6. If he's like his dad, he's going to be a problem."
-- Ozzie commenting on Juan Uribe's new child, born June 6

Though I'm not a baseball expert by any stretch of the imagination, I thought a blog was a place to have fun and express opinions...perhaps not.

Anywho...

In my novice opinion, I find it disppointing when the team (especially the 1-6 hitters; I had low expectations for last night's 7-9 hitters) doesn't hit a guy like Padilla. Did he have especially good stuff last night? I guess a 3-hitter would indicate it to be so...it just didn't look overpowering.

To me, it's usually a little more obvious when a guy is dominating a game...like Kenny Rogers last week.

What's especially disappointing is the number of men left on this year and the lack of ability to move runners with 1 out or less. I don't have the stats to back it up, but I'm guessing they aren't doing as well as last year (so far).

As I've been proven wrong over and over again by this team as they pull off multiple-run rallies to win games, I continue to have every confidence in the world that they can repeat...but it's fun to vent once in awhile.

I'll try to be better about keeping my uniformed opinions to myself...HA! RIGHT!