Bryan Abreu hanging Adolis Garcia with a fastball and the following benches-clearing Lone Star Struggle would be the climax of this baseball season. Misplaced within the shuffle have been the Rangers not capitalizing on first and second with no person out within the backside of the eighth and ninth of Recreation 5. Jose Altuve’s residence run and the ejections took priority. And I’m stunned we nearly bought by way of 5 video games of the American League Championship Sequence with out an incident. These groups hate one another. And Abreu ought to be suspended tonight. Main League Baseball upholding his suspension, however deferring it to the primary two video games of the 2024 season is full cowardice. It does nothing for anybody. If the league bought it mistaken, take the ban fully away. If it didn’t, Abreu threw at a batter with intent in a vital juncture of the season. I really can’t consider a worse manner MLB may’ve dealt with it.
Recreation 6 of the ALCS completely uncovered how disconnected from the remainder of baseball the Astros and their fan base are. Irrespective of what number of occasions a Twitter account, or an X account, regardless of the shell-of-its-former-self platform Elon Musk runs known as these days, posts “If you happen to suppose that was intentional, you realize nothing about baseball!!!!!” it doesn’t cease details. And Abreu will nonetheless serve a suspension, albeit a number of months later. I actually don’t know why Houston didn’t, and at present hasn’t, embraced villainizing the state of affairs. With out Abreu plunking Garcia, there’s probably not a Recreation 7. The Rangers already comprise one-half of the World Sequence. There’s no manner we’ll know, however Jose Leclerc has been cash since August, and that one second is what undid him, evidenced by him getting out of a bases-loaded jam in Recreation 6.
What a Machiavellian transfer from both Abreu, catcher Martin Maldonado, Dusty Baker himself, or some mixture of the three. It’s evil genius, and Baker is aware of the foundations of baseball all too effectively. And the way he prolonged Leclerc’s delay by sitting on the bench? He’s fortunate to haven’t been suspended himself. I wouldn’t be stunned if in some unspecified time in the future in Recreation 7 if Texas supervisor Bruce Bochy doesn’t ask the umpires to verify Astros’ starter Cristian Javier for a international substance, simply because the Dallas Morning Information’ Evan Grant proposed. Garcia ought to’ve had a cooler head, however enjoying with that emotion is what makes him so nice. It’s not an on-off swap, particularly this time of 12 months, so Rangers followers take the largely good with the unhealthy.
These followers in attendance shedding their minds when Nathan Eovaldi hit Maldonado with a pitch final evening appeared extremely dumb, particularly when the replay confirmed the Astros’ catcher shifting his arm into the pitch. Guess they weren’t so animated when Ryan Stanek plunked Corey Seager. You’ll be able to’t have it each methods, and saying the league is out to get the Astros? Abreu received’t miss Recreation 7 or any World Sequence motion. Cheaters gonna cheat, and perhaps the league workplace is colluding.
