Photo : Ben Margot ( AP )

Even if you are the type of team that operates under a strict adherence to baseball’s dopey unwritten rules, there are times when exceptions should be made. For example, when it comes time to defend the honor of a known dolt like Hunter Strickland, who started a useless beef with a rookie Marlin who is hitting .180 and then broke his own hand after getting mad about said beef, you should feel free to forego an opportunity to exact vengeance.




The Giants are apparently not that wise of a team, and put their asses in the jackpot for no good reason last night. A recap of the preceding events: Light-hitting Marlins rookie Lewis Brinson had some big hits against the Giants last week and was happy about it. This made Giants closer Hunter Strickland mad, so on Monday night he buzzed Brinson with a fastball. Brinson got him back immediately by hitting a game-tying single, and then Strickland grumbled things at Brinson while he left the field after blowing the save. Then Strickland punched some stuff in the locker room and broke his hand, like an idiot.

That should have been the end of it. Strickland tried to get tough with a rookie and he ended up humiliated and injured. The Giants had the perfect opportunity to just wash their hands of Strickland’s bullshit and be done with the whole thing. Instead, they hit Brinson in the second inning of Tuesday night’s game, which then led to the Marlins throwing a fastball right at Buster Posey’s wrists.


If you regularly watch baseball, you are surely aware that guys often suffer season-ending injuries by taking a fastball to the hand or wrist. Getting hurt in this way is a risk that every batter takes whenever he steps into the box, and it’s a risk that is made exponentially more likely to happen when teams decide to get into stupid beanball contests. The Giants had to know that the Marlins were going to seek retaliation if Brinson was hit last night, and they had to know that such retaliation would be directed at their best player, Buster Posey.

Luckily for the Giants, Posey wasn’t injured. Who knows if they’ll be so fortunate the next time they decide to go on a crusade in the name of their moronic closer.