All Things Bubba

Justice wasn't delayed in the case of Tuesday night's Reds-Cardinals brawl. The penalties were announced today. Milder than I expected. Both managers got two days. Johnny Cueto got seven days for kicking people with his spikes. Brandon Phillips, Russ Springer, Yadier Molina and Chris Carpenter got fines.

I thought Scott Rolen would get suspended, but apparently he's not even getting a fine.

It could have been a lot worse, on several fronts. Perhaps Brandon Phillips didn't really mean for his words to be public; some of the other beat writers apparently thought they were off the record. I don't doubt that the feelings he expressed are widely shared around the league. But I would bet that if he could do it all over again, he'd keep his mouth shut.

The Reds were swept in the series, and therefore lost their #1 spot in the division. I don't blame all three losses on Phillips' flapping gums, but I think the Reds could have won the second game. The one that was disrupted by the brawl. The pitching matchup was the most favorable in the series. But the Reds were clearly distracted by the brawl, far more than the Cards were. Rolen said he was tired before his first at-bat, because of the "tension." The Reds racked up three errors, and it probably should have been at least four (generous scorer changed one after the game).

I remember one player (a pitcher) saying that he hated bench-clearing brawls, because he felt he had to go out there with his teammates, but he didn't want to get hurt. He said he'd try to pick on the middle infielders, because they're the smallest. No one tried to go after Paul Janish on Tuesday; he's pretty big for a shortstop. And he kept his head during the ruckus, holding Brandon Phillips back rather than going after any Cardinals. Smart fellows, those Rice guys. ;-)

Alas, I may have cursed Janish by pointing out that he'd gotten on base every game since he became the starting SS. The very next game, he was 0-fer. He did get a walk in the second game and a single in the third, though. So he's still well ahead of Orlando Cabrera at the plate. Not to mention his sweet defense.

Labels: Paul Janish