Machismo Will Get You Nowhere...

OK, before I talk about the events of the game, I have to comment on something I've never seen in a ballgame before. Ivan Rodriguez swung the bat so hard that he hit himself in the back of the head and broke his bat. You see something new everyday in this game...

Hey, Miguel. Bonderman was not trying to throw at you! He pitched you inside and instead of acting like a leader you acted like a petulant child. Then your pitcher went out there and tried to protect you after your tirade and plunked Gary Sheffield. this wouldn't bother me normally but your team just lost 6 of 7 and is in a tie ballgame against a tough pitcher. Why on Earth would you want to give someone a free pass? Sheffield handled getting plunked like a professional hitter would. He stole second, then third and then came around to score the go-ahead run. And in his next at bat he hit a two-run moonshot to put his team ahead for good. For good measure, you committed an error on what could have been a double play ball and did nothing offensively after being "thrown at" initially. Nice job.

Hey, Sam. When Jim Leyland makes a big mistake (leaving Jeremy Bonderman in to pitch to Jay Gibbons instead of calling for the lefty Willy Ledezma) and Jay Gibbons makes him pay with a monster blast to center, this is called "a rally". When Ivan Rodriguez in behind the plate and the relief itching is wild, you do not run yourself out of the inning by trying to steal on arguably the greatest defensive catcher of his generation and 12-time Gold Glove winner? Why would this seem to be a good strategy?

Needless to say, Baltimore would not score again.