Wednesday, August 7, 2013

Benches clear in Nats-Braves game



Whether it was the way he walked out of the box after hitting the homer or the time he took around the bases, something about Bryce Harper’s third inning solo shot evidently bothered Julio Teheran.

The Braves starter retaliated in the fifth inning by beaning Harper with a 94 mile per hour fastball in the right thigh, igniting a near brawl that saw both benches and bullpens clear and warnings issued to both teams.

After getting hit in the leg Harper tossed his bat and stepped towards Teheran, yelling and pointing at him, clearly displeased with what he felt was an intentional strike. Teheran walked off the mound and towards Harper before home plate umpire Joe West jumped in Harper’s way to diffuse what nearly became an ugly situation.

Teheran said he was surprised with Harper’s reaction, sticking to his story that he was just trying to throw a fastball in and it got away from him. Harper on the other hand, wasn’t surprised Teheran would target him after the homer.

“I hit that ball pretty far off him, so no, not really,” he said.




Teheran claimed afterwards he didn’t even notice Harper walk slowly after the 437 foot bomb to center field, he didn’t even look at him as he rounded the bases.

“I didn’t watch it. I didn’t watch it at all,” Teheran said. But his teammates did watch and had a different take.

“He walked on it a little bit and I guess Julio didn’t like it,” Freddie Freeman said. “After you hit a home run and the next thing you know the pitch is coming at you, I think everyone’s going to have a reaction.”

“He sat there for a little bit, but it is what it is,” Brian McCann said.

McCann ran out on the field to get in Harper’s face, jawing at him over West’s shoulder as Harper walked towards first. He had little to say about the situation, only that he was doing his job.

“I’m there to protect my team, my pitcher, that’s about it. That’s it,” McCann said.

Freeman was on first as Harper took the base on the hit-by-pitch. He said it was a little different than the usual first baseman and baserunner interaction.



“Once he got down to first base he said nothing. He was I think still mad. Usually I talk to everybody, but I left him alone.”

Though no punches were thrown, the skirmish brought every player from both teams on the field, even Atlanta’s Jason Heyward who left the game in the first inning with a neck strain. He called the situation just a part of the game.

“I was out there,” he said. “It is just an unwritten rule, it’s part of baseball. It’s part of the competition to be out there for your teammates. Everybody does, it’s just the way it goes.”

Heyward continued to say he didn’t blame Harper for his response to being hit, he and his teammates understand why the situation escalated to that point.

“However you react, I’m not going to judge anybody there. Whether they hurt someone or hurt themselves, that’s a different story. But as far as reacting, feel free. We get it,” he said.

“We’re competing out here. It’s competition. Whoever didn’t come to see this series from this area here, they kind of blew it. This is a good series to watch. It’s a lot of fun.”

The Nats did not retaliate by throwing at anyone, they continued to play the game to win without giving any free passes. The next batter, Ryan Zimmerman, swung for the fences and nearly hit a homer to left field. His manager, Davey Johnson, said that was the appropriate response.

“That’s the way you answer that sort of thing,” he said. “You file it for future reference.”

The Nats and Braves play again on Wednesday and seven total times the rest of the season. Perhaps sometime later this year the timing will be right for Washington to have a response of their own.

57 comments:

alexva said...

Harper did not take one step into the grass, walked down the line making his feelings known.

if the Braves felt his home run actions deserved him being hit then they must be hitting a lot of batters.

also no opportunity to hit one of them in a one run game. JZim will handle it today most likely

sjm308 said...

That's what I think Alexva and I also think this needs to be let go. We have lots of other "stuff" going on here to worry about why Harper was hit or what is going to happen next.

Fix the damn bench, start to catch and throw the ball cleanly and maybe just maybe hit the damn ball with runners in scoring position.

Go Nats!

UNTERP said...

To me the epitome of the entire season wasn't Gio's pop up bunt, but Adam LaRoche swinging at ball 3 with the bases full. Fundamentally, I don't know if any team is worse than the Nationals...

Sunshine_Bobby_Carpenter_Is_Too_Pessimistic_For_Me said...

If there is ever a team that needs a brawl to get it going, it's the 2013 Nats. I'm usually a peace-loving guy but Gio should've plunked either punk Teheran or fatso McCann.

absurd linen said...

Teheran did not "bean" Harper. To bean someone is to hit them in the head. Harper was hit in the leg.

Landover Hills Punk said...

One-run game or not, the Nats should have plunked (not beaned) a Brave. What difference does it make? A one-run deficit feels pretty insurmountable anyway. I was hoping Justin Upton would get plunked, but would have been okay with Freeman or McCann. By the time Upton came up in the 8th, they could have inserted a relief pitcher (Abad?) just for the plunking and ejection.

sjm308 said...

NatsJack - at the end of the last post - If you are a troll, all I can say is "Poppycock"!

Anonymous said...

Freeman is a class act. I hope the Nats don't throw at him, not when there's obvious candidates ... like Justin Upton who pimped a HR Monday, or Brian McCann who defended Teheran's bush league move. Easy call.

sjm308 said...

My choice, and I don't know why is Upton. I can also go with McCann but again, there have to be two outs and no one on base when this is done.

Coolhandbane (formally Bob Saget) said...

I didnt watch the game but watched the video. I have to agree with the MASN commentators; it was intentional. If Teheran had control has the commentators said, it had to be intentional in my view.

This bench clearing incident should have ignited the nats. They should have known the Braves how good they can be. I was disappointed that they didnt take advantage. I mean the nationals went 0-5 with RISP. I have said this before as many have, bat smart. Swing at pitches you can at hit and make the pitchers work. Take walks and top swinging for the fences (desi).

MrsB loves the Nats said...

McCann made me laugh last night... he didnt start jawing and talking trash until J West came and stood in front of him... It was such a typical bitsh and punk move.... I couldnt do nothing but laugh...

Hopefully we beat the breaks off them and salvage something and start a winning streak...

Kirbs said...

Screw Davey. I'm so sick of his "aww shucks" attitude.

Section 222 said...

I'll be very disappointed in Davey and the Nats if there is retaliation tonight, just as I'm disappointed in all of my fellow Insiders who are calling for it. Maybe if JZnn or another Nat gets hurt in the resulting baseclearing brawl (which you know the Braves are spoiling for), you'll finally realize what a childish, idiotic, pointless, and dangerous unwritten rule this is.

To the Nats, all I am saying is give peace a chance... and win some ballgames for a change.

Tcostant said...

I'll be there tonight, right behind home plate. I expect Upton to get drilled.

Section 222 said...

This discussion of which Brave should be intentionally assaulted is sickening. Why don't you just urge some drunk fans to ambush Upton outside Nats Park after the game and beat him up? What did he do, other than hit a game winning HR off of our best reliever, which the players on our team seem incapable of doing? Remember this the next time you act superior to Phillies or Braves fans and how they act in our park or on their blogs.

I'm embarrassed to be an Insider today.

sjm308 said...

I am guessing that 222 has never been hit by a baseball. We are not protesting the war in Vietnam here, its baseball. Tcostant - stand up and wave up toward 308 when he gets plunked and I will be standing waving back.

Go Nats!! and I am not embarrassed at all

sjm308 said...

222 - in the immortal words of NatsJack

Poppycock

by the way - don't know if you noticed but the Dodgers are doing pretty well after that melee and Grienke is back pitching.

SCNatsFan said...

sec222, I disagree, but I'm still for fighting in hockey. A team shouldn't win because it has a 'bully' attitude. Plus there is the code you have your teammates back. Taking the high road here was the wrong decision.

Would you feel the same if that pitch hit Harper in his bad knee and he missed the season, maybe next season?

MrsB loves the Nats said...

Sjm - can you imagine the venom if one of our players got hurt in a worthless mele, though... I know I would have been calling players dumb as hell had someone got hurt like Greinke did... I would have rather won the damn game...

I get what 222 is saying as I have been saying that, to an extent...

ruggeds1000 said...

wuld have helped if harper or any nat can hit their home runs with someone on base for a change.

they all look like they're swinging for the fences every time up so you'd think the bat would get in the way of the ball more often.

Theophilus T. S. said...

Assume ten Nats got in a brawl with the Braves . . . nine of them would swing and miss. (Any pitchers involved would claim they had their "good stuff" in BP warmups but just "didn't have command."

sjm308 said...

Theo - now that's funny. It is especially true if there were runners on base when the brawl took place or in the late innings.

MrsB loves the Nats said...

BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA... THEO, you just made me spit my water at my computer screen... that was hilarious....

sjm308 said...

MrsB - I understand what you and 222 are saying but I will disagree. Grienke's injury was a fluke. If you look at all the bench clearing brawls this year, most of the time the only ones getting anything close to exercise are the guys running in from the bullpen. Its usually just some pushing and shoving. Now, the caveat to these two teams getting into a scrum is that Harper just might go nuts. I do not want him hurt.

Mississippi Snopes said...

The only way the "unwritten rule" needs to be changed is that it should be the pitcher who intentionally hits a player who gets hit. You don't do it in a tight game, but there will come a time when Julio Teheran is at bat and the game's not on the line. That's when he should be hit. If the pitchers had to take their own medicine, this dangerous practice of throwing at hitters would become far far rarer.

What people are overlooking in this discussion is how idiotically Teheran behaved. With a 13 1/2 game lead, this game meant nothing to the Braves. Whether Teheran hit Harper intentionally or just pitched recklessly far inside, he knew that by hitting Harper under the unwritten rules one of his teammates (unfortunately, not him) will be hit in retaliation at some point in one of the remaining Braves-Nats games this season.

When that retaliation occurs (as it inevitably will), there is a significant chance of significant injury to a key Braves player. And if that injury occurs, it will hurt the Braves' chances in the playoffs.

So, way to go, Julio. For a game that means nothing, you took a chance of damaging the Braves' chances in the playoffs. I'm certain Fredi chewed his tail out after the game for such a childishly selfish move.

Section 222 said...

Glad you got the reference NJ. And sjm, not sure what it has to do with anything, but yes, I have been hit by a baseball. It's been a good 45 years though, and the pitches were definitely not over 90 mph. As for Greinke and the Dodgers -- he missed about 5 starts. The Dodgers were 6-3 after the game where he was injured. They were 16-22 after the game before his return. It's unclear to say the least that that brawl "inspired" the Dodgers. And incidentally, they are a better team than the Nats, in case you hadn't noticed. I know you've given up on this season, but do you really want to take that risk that for JZnn and the Nats?

Code, shmode. I'll bet if you asked Harper, he'd say enough of this old school, prestigious crap, take the high road and kick their butts tonight (figuratively). Otherwise, why didn't he just charge the mound last night? What is he, a wimp or something?

natsfan1a said...

+1

Theophilus T. S. said...

Assume ten Nats got in a brawl with the Braves . . . nine of them would swing and miss. (Any pitchers involved would claim they had their "good stuff" in BP warmups but just "didn't have command."
August 07, 2013 11:18 AM

Sunshine_Bobby_Carpenter_Is_Too_Pessimistic_For_Me said...

Section 222 said...

"This discussion of which Brave should be intentionally assaulted is sickening. Why don't you just urge some drunk fans to ambush Upton outside Nats Park after the game and beat him up?"

That actually is my second choice.

First choice is between the third and fourth ribs.

alexva said...

222, as a regular Insider it's the comments today that embarrass you?

really???

Section 222 said...

sjm, lots of very serious injuries are flukes. Remember Mariano Rivera last year, or the guy on the Angels who was out for the season after landing on someone's foot instead of home plate after a walkoff? Fights in baseball are embarrassing (as you rightly illustrate) and stupid. And they can be dangerous -- see, e.g., Greinke. If JZnn succumbs to the code or peer pressure and starts a brawl tonight, he's as dumb as Mattheus.

Section 222 said...

alexva and Sunshine -- LOL.

Anonymous said...

Come on, 222. It's not assault, it's part of the game. Teheran didn't assault Harper, he threw at him, a common practice in the sport. Retaliation is also a common practice in the sport. It's no more an assault than a cross-check in hockey, a flagrant foul in basketball or roughing the passer in football. It gets handled between the lines, and that's the end of it. Nobody's gonna be bringing a lawsuit here, and if they did they'd get laughed out of court.

Also, not many insiders are advocating for it, we just recognize its inevitability and are discussing the best/most likely candidates for retaliation.

sjm308 said...

Dueces - as much as we like each other, I will just let this drop and look forward to seeing you up in the 300 sections where to my knowledge no brawls have ever started.

sjm308 said...

I want to be very clear here. I was advocating for it last night and again, if I am positive my pitcher will not get ejected I am advocating for it tonight. I am also advocating for it in a situation where there are two outs and no one on base. If Zimmnn could throw the ball into the dugout and hit Teheran, I would advocate that.

Go Nats!

Section 222 said...

I understand that's your view bowdenball, and the view of many here. I just disagree. When you intentionally throw a baseball at someone, it may be part of the game, but it shouldn't be. And if someone gets seriously hurt, don't be surprised if someday charges are brought. Why do you think Harper was so pissed off last night? Because his pride was hurt? No, he recognizes that he's a sitting duck for a pitcher wielding a deadly weapon.

I hear a lot of folks not only advocating retaliation but wishing it had happened last night. I'm disappointed that so many commenters who I respect are in that camp. But I appreciate the vigorous and often humorous discussion.

MrsB loves the Nats said...

I advocate that we win tonight... That's all I want at this point...

sjm308 said...

Dueces - if you can't laugh after what we have been through this season, what's the point. We have all had our hopes pretty well damaged so I am going to enjoy the games and hope for the best.

MrsB loves the Nats said...

So I was just reading MLB.com... and some Braves fans are saying that actually Teheran was retaliating becuz Gio plunked Freeman....

Anonymous said...

That's fair, 222. And for what it's worth I totally agree with you, I also wish it wasn't part of the game. But it is, and that by definition means it's not an assault.

sjm308 said...

MrsB - I will join you on the advocation (is that a word??) off to the gym to get pumped up for the big brawl tonight.

alexva said...

222, I think you'll have to agree that baseball has less showboating than basketball and football. part of it is the practice of self policing, like it or not.

I'll accept it over potential chest thumping every time a player makes some routine play

Section 222 said...

alex. I suppose. Though there are plenty of antics by closers (including our own) and home run hitters that could offend someone, and don't forget outfielders chestbumping after a victory. I certainly don't think that any lack of showboating in baseball is due to fear of being plunked if that's what you're suggesting. More likely is that there's a recognition that you fail 7 out of 10 times at the plate so going overboard on one hit when you might strike out the next time creates a bit of humility. Plus, there's the whole "playing the game the right way," "respect for the game" ethic.

Anyway, the line between what is acceptable pimping of a home run and what is not is ridiculously subjective. That some Braves players and fans are suggesting that Harper was plunked for that is absurd. I can much more easily believe that Tehran was pissed that Harper has his number than that he thought he over-celebrated.

SonnyG10 said...

I think there is retaliation coming, but at a time and conditions under our choosing. I think the Braves also know they have one coming and when it does, that will be the end of it.

Alan G. Ampolsk said...

@absurd linen - thank you for that. "Beaning" means head, anything else is just "hit by pitch."

While we're on the subject, "striking out the side" means facing three batters and striking out all of them, like Walden and Kimbrel did last night - not striking out three batters in the course of also giving up two singles and a double. Somebody needs to tell Bob and FP that.

To all the fighting/retaliation advocates in this thread - your anger has made you strong.

Nats106 said...

Section 222 said...

"Why don't you just urge some drunk fans to ambush Upton outside Nats Park after the game and beat him up?"

I wouldn't advocate that because Upton would win. Somehow I think even said fan was sober, they wouldn't win. Maybe Zimmerman will throw at Screech.

Holden Baroque said...

@absurd linen - thank you for that. "Beaning" means head, anything else is just "hit by pitch."

Seconded. I was wondering if Chase was implying Harper's head was near where that ball hit him. Seemed gratuitous, to me.

BigCat said...

222.....no one is saying hit someone in the head. That , I agree is over the top. But the Braves got one coming and they know it. That's the way it is. You pick a good spot and stick one right in one of their stars ribs

Holden Baroque said...

"Why don't you just urge some drunk fans to ambush Upton outside Nats Park after the game and beat him up?"

Which reminds me:
Casey at the Bat -- Road Game

The Real Feel Wood. Accept no substitutes. said...

Well, we already knew Section222 wasn't really a Flanagan, so this anti-brawl stance of his just proves it. But you have to wonder why he now turns his back on his real heritage.

"18And he that killeth a beast shall make it good; beast for beast. 19And if a man cause a blemish in his neighbour; as he hath done, so shall it be done to him; 20Breach for breach, eye for eye, tooth for tooth: as he hath caused a blemish in a man, so shall it be done to him again. 21And he that killeth a beast, he shall restore it: and he that killeth a man, he shall be put to death." - Leviticus 24 (KJV)

Section 222 said...

That's the way it is.

Sigh. That's the attitude I object to. It's only that way if the Nats indulge in and perpetuate this foolish, mindless, "code." Can you guarantee that JZnn, or whoever is chosen to execute this dumb plan will not inflict any injury other than a brief sharp pain to the ribs or quad? Can you guarantee that the Braves will not escalate, either by charging the mound and starting a melee or by throwing at a Nat in retaliation? If not (and I'd be far more confident in the first than the second), the risks are too great in my opinion. Take a stand for sanity and maturity. Give peace a chance!

Section 222 said...

My real heritage? Who the heck are you Feel? Your posts are offensive even though you obviously don't know me or my heritage. Please go crawl back under the rock from which you have re-emerged.

Nats106 said...

Sec. 3, My Sofa said...
Which reminds me:
Casey at the Bat -- Road Game

That was most excellent-thank you for posting the link. Be assured no Braves fan has ever read that parody to completion. They have the attention span of a gnat.

pwilly said...

This isn't about revenge or retaliation, it's about protecting your own players, especially your stars. If you want to see a clubhouse go south watch what happens when one of yours gets drilled intentionally and none of theirs pays for it. The Braves know it's coming, hopefully they'll be professional about it and that will be that.

Holden Baroque said...

"Heritage" ?? WHISKEY TANGO?

The Real Feel Wood. Accept no substitutes. said...

How do we know that Teheran hitting Harper in the 5th wasn't retaliation for Gonzales hitting Freeman in the 4th?

pwilly said...

The Real Feel..because Freeman was hit with a 75mph curve ball, no way was it intentionall. He was laughing about it at first base.

Theophilus T. S. said...

"Zim's playing in because he doesn't trust his arm" is a Plan B explanation, because no one's buying the "he's still one of the best third basemen in the NL" line. So they've come up with this rationalization for his obvious defensive short-comings. He's not just "playing in," he's playing in as if he thinks he has to defend the bunt/Baltimore chop on every play. If he was just cheating for his arm's sake he wouldn't have to creep up on the batter's box. The real issue, I think, is that if he played at "normal depth" -- at least 3-4 steps back from where he seems to be playing -- he's afraid the hitters (except Cabrera) will, in fact, bunt on him on every pitch and test his sidearm/submarine throws and all his other defensive abilities.

So he stands like a house by the side of the road while hot ground balls zip by (as if they were called third strikes).

If it's really "mental" as Johnson wants us to believe -- not that I think he believes that for a minute -- then they should send him to a rotator cuff/clavicular psycho-therapist during the season.

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