Monday, June 11, 2018

Let’s Get Ready to RRRRRUMBLLLLLLE!

by Jason Franz


In the third base dugout, coming in at with 35 wins, 29 losses and one of the most miserable May’s in Major League Baseball history, your first place Arizona Diamondbacks!

And in the first base dugout, treading water just below .500 and having dropped seven of their last 10, the team that nobody wants to like but everybody loves to hate, the generally insignificant Pittsburgh Pirates!


To say the Diamondbacks and Pirates have some history is beyond subtle. Going way back to 2014 (hey, that’s like recalling the 1930’s for a Red Sox fan), these two teams have had an ongoing feud that began when some Pirates pitcher no one can recall hit Paul Goldschmidt on the wrist, causing a fracture and sitting him down the remainder of that season. The D-Backs came right back the next day with Randal Delgado plunking Andrew McCutchen square in the back.



It is on.

Two years later, some dude named Arquimedes Caminero decided to earn some goodwill with his Bucco teammates by going headhunting not once but twice during a 12-1 route of the Diamondbacks. Both former shortstop Jean Segura and current shortstop Nick Ahmed got hit in the head, Ahmed on the chin, which led to then-GM Tony La Russa charging into the Pirates’ broadcast booth to set some “inaccuracies” straight. Whatever, it was good drama.




So, here we are, two more years later and the Pirates are back in town and beanball is already in play. With the Pirates holding a 5-0 lead in the 7th, D-Backs reliever Braden Shipley popped Josh Harrison in the hip with a wild pitch and let another wild one sail over Starling Marte. And because they’re down 5-0, clearly these pitches were intentional, right?

Well, that’s what the Pirates seemed to think because they came right back in the bottom of the 7th to plunk Chris Owings in the back. This led to a 5-run inning to tie the game and the utter unraveling of the Pirates.


Diamondbacks win, 9-5.

Under Clint Hurdle, the Pittsburgh Pirates have hit more batters than any other team. What are the odds the Pirates are throwing at every hitter, the mascot and a couple of the vendors tomorrow?

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