It seems obvious that John Lackey was going to sacrifice himself on behalf of his teammates and was going to plunk Ian Kinsler if it took all day (view the replay here). The only question remaining is if he did so on his own volition or did Mike Scioscia order the assassination? Scioscia and Lackey put on a great show in disbelief that Lackey was thrown out of the game. But if you watch the video, there is no evidence that Lackey's shoulder flew open too quickly which would force the pitch wide to the right. The replay shows that Lackey's follow through and delivery were solid and he was aiming for Kinsler. Of course, it is impossible to read Lackey's mind to be sure that it was intentional. It sure looked it though.
To Kinsler's credit, he simply took his base without incident. It was a classy move on his part. He got even by stealing a base and scoring on Josh Hamilton's sac fly. Eight out of ten other players in that situation would have charged the mound. Sometimes, you show more of your manhood by not sinking down to your attacker's level. That was a man's move right there.
As for Lackey, he has the distinction of throwing two pitches and giving up an earned run. To be sure, the league office will be calling to set up an appointment for when Lackey fights the suspension that is sure to come.
Just to be fair, the Fan went back to Friday's game and watched the replay of both of Kinsler's home runs and there was nothing showboating about them. He simply ran around the bases, and he didn't do it slowly either. And he didn't pose at the plate. So it doesn't make any sense to use Kinsler as a target.
Strange. Very strange indeed.
1 comment:
Wow, I didn't see this. That is strange. Kinsler handled it well.
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