So if you missed the whole shindig, during the eighth inning of last night's game against the Washington Nationals, Joe Maddon called to the bullpen to bring in Joel Peralta. The Nats' manager, Davey Johnson, then approached the home plate umpire and indicated that he wanted Peralta's glove checked, unleashing this spectacular chain of events:
Joel Peralta has been ejected for having a foreign substance on or in his glove. #Rays #MLB
— JB Long (@JB_Long) June 20, 2012
Now Joe Maddon & #Rays have returned favor, requesting the umpiring crew inspect Mattheus' glove. Pure gamesmanship. #MLB
— JB Long (@JB_Long) June 20, 2012
Davey "rumor was Peralta liked tar" "Where did that come from? "Well, he pitched here...guys said stuff before the game"
— jasoncollette (@jasoncollette) June 20, 2012
Pena -- "What hurts is that an ex-teammate and friend ratted out Peralta. That's unethical & unacceptable, IMO" -- strong words #Rays
— jasoncollette (@jasoncollette) June 20, 2012
Maddon also going to great lengths to defend Peralta's actions as common practice. Does not want him singled out, vilified. #Rays #MLB
— JB Long (@JB_Long) June 20, 2012
#Rays Maddon calling out Nats Davey Johnson for checking Peralta's glove. First said cowardly, then upped to "[p-word] move," bush league.
— JB Long (@JB_Long) June 20, 2012
Amazing. Are you not entertained? Because that whole brewhaha just made my night. And I wouldn't be surprised if this isn't the end of it, and Maddon does something else over the course of the next couple games to mess with Johnson and the Nats. He seemed royally annoyed.
Since Peralta was caught with an illegal substance on his glove, it seems likely that he'll be suspended for the requisite 10 games. Of course, Maddon is claiming Peralta wasn't doing anything out of the ordinary or wrong, so this practice is apparently way more prevalent than I knew.
Man, how amazing would it be for Maddon to nail Strasburg for this today? I kind of want to see Strasburg pitch, but at the same time, that'd be hilarious (not to mention good for the Rays).
- Rocco Baldelli shared some thoughts on hitting with David Laurila. If you read one link today, make it this one -- it's a long transcription, giving us an extended peek into Rocco's mindset and the...well, the art of hitting.
- You know you can't resist more links about R.A. Dickey's incredible run of success. Here's GIF documentation of his top three nastiest pitches from Monday night. Here's Dave Cameron talking about what's fueling Dickey's success. And here's Jason Collette putting Dickey's run in historical context.