San Diego Padres burning book of unwritten rules, except when on other side of them
Through two games of the National League Division Series, the San Diego Padres have seen their manager ejected and their highest-paid player pimp a home run while trailing by two and then take exception to a celebration by another player on the other team.
The Padres have felt a jolt of energy seeing an injured starter declared healthy, only to walk off the mound hurt again in his first inning. They picked themselves up off the mat late in Game 2, only to leave the bases loaded and the tying run at third base.
Hopefully, someone has a cardiologist and a psychiatrist on speed dial.
But the Padres, down 2-0 in the NLDS to the Los Angeles Dodgers entering a win-or-go home game Thursday, say they thrive on positive energy.
Fernando Tatis Jr. and Jurickson Profar make sure everyone sees them as they round third on their home-run trots. San Diego has made celebratory high-fives an Olympic sport.
The Padres don’t care much if their energy or they way they play the game rubs anyone the wrong way. They had previously rubbed the Dodgers wrong.
Apparently sensing his team needed a pick-me-up, Manny Machado heaved his bat toward the Padres’ dugout following a Game 2 home run off Clayton Kershaw and gave a primal scream.
It was quite a show for a drive that landed two rows deep, not two levels deep, and still left the Padres down 4-2. But, hey, that’s Slam Diego.
The Padres said Machado was trying to fire them up as he cursed at reliever Brusdar Graterol for celebrating Cody Bellinger’s game-changing catch that robbed Tatis of a go-ahead two-run homer in the seventh inning.
But if San Diego is going to push previous bounds of celebration and have tons of fun, which has become more and more accepted as old-school baseball slows fades away, they can’t get upset when another team revels in its success.
Unwritten rules for thee but not for me is peak hypocrisy.
The Padres were at the center of one of the biggest controversies over the unwritten rules in August, when Tatis launched a grand slam on a 3-0 pitch with the Padres already leading the Texas Rangers by six runs in the eighth inning.
Rangers manager Chris Woodward said he didn’t care for the 3-0 swing that late and with that kind of lead, because he was taught that wasn’t respecting the game. Padres manager Jayce Tingler had given Tatis the take sign, and veteran first baseman Eric Hosmer took time to school Tatis on what he had done.
Tatis, for his part, issued an apology.
Meanwhile, anyone and everyone with an opinion sided against Woodward and the unwritten rules. Tatis was told to drown out the noise, including by Hall of Fame players who would have been livid during their playing days, and Woodward was told to make his pitchers pitch better.
Fine. Great.
But the Padres have to choke down their own medicine.
An argument can be made that what Graterol did, flinging his glove and hat and thumping his chest as if the Dodgers had just won the World Series, crossed a line. He also blew kisses at Machado, the on-deck hitter, and that did cross a line.
Machado responded, hurtling colorful expletives at Graterol and threatening “I’ll be waiting for you.” The Dodgers gave it back to Machado after they saw him jawing, and some of what they said was equally colorful.
A day later, both sides were downplaying the spat. It’s a rivalry, they said, and emotions run high during the postseason.
Here’s proof.
“It’s a rivalry, it’s high emotions,” Dodgers shortstop Corey Seager said.
“Emotions take over, and, honestly, watching Graterol do that all year has been awesome. He’s been a huge spark for this team, he’s been a huge piece in our ‘pen, and we’ve always got his back. We love to see his emotion.”
Padres center fielder Trent Grisham, the former Richland High star, basically said the same thing about Machado.
“Manny’s trying to get our team fired up, and I’m sure Graterol’s trying to get his team fired up,” Grisham said. “That’s just part of it when you bring rivals together and they’re playing each other in high-pressure situations. There’s not ill-intentions.”
Nothing to see here, then.
Right. Until the next time, which could come at any time with the fun-loving, unwritten-rules-burning Padres.
But it’s always going to be something to talk about as long as their hypocrisy over the unwritten rules lives on.
