Derrek Lee/Chris Young Brawl Recap, and other Game 67 Cubs/Padres things
Photos, Play by Play, Box Score, Recap, Game Center
First off, I didn't see the incident happen and wasn't planning to do a recap today. That said, here's a good effort at reconstructing what happened by watching all the replays. Eye-witnesses, please fill in the details in the comments.
So we know that the Padres were upset with Soriano's extended admiration of his home run, yesterday. Beyond that, I'm unaware of any other bad-blood between the teams. In the fourth, Chris Young goes up and in on Lee, knocking him down. The pitch hit him up high, I'm not quite sure where. It didn't hit flush, but obviously, fastballs near the head are always potential matters of life and death. While the home plate ump is busy talking with Padres catcher Rob Bowen, Lee starts walking towards first, but well on the infield grass, several feet in fair territory. He and Young start jawing. Early speculation from parachat suggests that Young was telling him to just take his base, and they were arguing over whether or not Young was deliberately pitching high and tight to Lee. Young appeared to laugh and motion at his cup (from my view of the replay) and Lee charged him, threw a haymaker right, missing. Young also missed with his haymaker (is there no ballplayer, today, who knows how to throw a real punch, not of the haymaker and sucker variety?) and like that, both benches clear. Marcus Giles was the first to arrive, sprinting in when he saw what was developing. Giles, all five foot three, ninety pounds of him, tries to tackle his own pitcher, the seven-foot five Young, very much Farnsworth-to-Wilson style. Instead of a tackle, Giles just manages to back Young off from the fray. LouPa was right behind Giles to the scene, and used his ample posterior to box out Lee. Lou might have a future in a senior basketball league. Zambrano came out, I'm told with his uniform undone and belt off, probably due to being, ah, back in the clubhouse. Peavy also came out, and Jake got ejected for his participation in the brawl. So did Gerald Perry. I have not yet seen footage of Z's, Jake's or Gerald's role in the fight. We continue with so much more, below... (Lou's post-game interview: Lou doesn't know what Young said. Thinks umps should have anticipated the situation. Nobody's hurt. Claims he's unaware of Peavy's critical remarks about Soriano. "They're inconsistent" when asked to comment on MLB's suspension policy. Doesn't know what Perry did. Warning issued by the umps "rightfully so.") Lee and Young both get ejected of course, and Lee will face a pretty big suspension. 10 games, reduced to 9, seems to be about S.O.P. these days. But given that the Cubs have sort of developed a bad rap in the last couple of weeks, who knows... Due to his departure, Izturis entered the game to pinch-run, then to play SS. Theriot moved to third and Derosa over to first. Justin Hampson came in to pitch for the Padres. In the top half of the fifth, Theriot watched a ball roll through his legs with one out in the inning. Z looked out ofsorts from there, walking two straight, before escaping with no damange on a 6-3 GIDP. Derosa then "ole!"s one at first base in the next inning. Again, a GIDP gets us out of it. But the defensive dominoes caused by Lee's ejection are pretty obvious. Off the top of my head, I'd guess Floyd becomes the first baseman during Lee's suspension, with Jones and perhaps a recalled Murton patrolling RF. If Aramis hurries back to play third, DeRosa could also take over at 1st. The no-hitter bid And as I try to get all of this down, Len informs us, in the start of the seventh, that Carlos is having what might become a "Special Day," today, pitching.... And as soon as I get done typing THAT, Zambrano makes the Ugliest Spectacular Play to Save A No-Hit bid, ever. Bocachica hits a dribbler between Z and Theriot, at third, and Z sort of staggers after it, bare hands it as it's about to bound past him, just a Jeter-esque (well, not quite) jump-spin-throw, and gets Bocachica at first. The no-hit attempt ends with one out in the eighth, as Marcus Giles hits a chopper that Z leaps to try to field to start a double-play. It glances off his glove, for a hit. If he lets it go, Fontenot likely would have been able to at least get the force at second. Really tough way to lose it. At least he gets out of the inning, untouched, with yet another GIDP. And a tough way to lose the game, as Zambrano fails to get the close call on a couple of consecutive two-strike pitches against Branyan in the 9th. Branyan then launches a solo HR, only the second Padre hit of the day. 1-0 Padres. Hoffman sets them down for the save. Unresolved Questions- Just what did Young say to Lee, that caused Lee to swing first?
- Was this related to the Soriano home run from yesterday, or not?
- Just what was Z doing prior to his appearance on-field for the brawl?
- Is the plan to have Barrett resume catching Zambrano going to get shelved, after another fine Z performance with Hill behind the plate?
- How long with the Cubs be without Lee, and how much of that will also be without Ramirez, and how do we shuffle the infield defense in the interim?
- Did we really just have a fight that didn't involve Barrett?
- To repeat my question, because it is worth repeating: is there any MLB player who knows how to throw a proper punch?
- Is someone at TCR secretly behind this string of Cubs brawls and terrible celebrity guests conducting the stretch, in an elaborate plot to spike our traffic?
- Is this the most disappointing loss of the year?
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