Seriously?
Dear Carlos Quentin–
I know you’re going to read this and think nothing more than that it’s a loyal Dodger fan bitter at the loss of one of his team’s top pitchers. And in some ways you’re right. You can’t imagine the anger I felt as I read tweet after tweet and seeing picture upon picture of the rage you felt after getting beaned by a Zack Greinke fastball.
But here’s the deal: I kind of get it. Don’t get me wrong, because I don’t condone it. In fact, I think it’s utter lunacy that you would charge the mound and tackle a pitcher because of a fast one in the shoulder. But let’s face it — the guy’s hit you now three times. You have a “history,” as they say. It’s a thing. I totally get it.
You know, when I watched the video this morning of the fight, I noticed you just took a couple of steps toward him before you went crazy on him. I guess he said something to you, or he said something to himself that you thought he said to you, and it spun your head. But I wish you had just taken a couple more steps to think about what you were preparing to do. It might have made a huge difference.
I mean, did you even look at the scoreboard? It was a 2-1 game, with no outs. The count was full. Do you honestly believe he would have purposefully hit you with a full count? On your third at bat? And it’s not like you had done anything worth discussing before then. Heck, you were 0-2 with a groundout and a strikeout. He wasn’t mad at you for hitting a bomb and flipping the bat.
So why, Carlos? I know I sound like Matt Kemp in the parking tunnel, but why would you seriously think it was a purpose pitch? Because four years ago he did it to you, and now he’s doing it again? Have you seen the list of pitchers who have hit you? (Jon Weisman has it on Twitter, if you want to check it out). Dude, every pitcher has hit you, and most at least twice!David Price has hit you twice. I’d love to see you go after that guy. Erik Bedard has hit you three times. Granted, nobody on the field ever has any clue where his pitch is going, so I get that. Hell, Nick Blackburn has hit you four times! Four! And you’re going after Greinke? It makes no sense, man.
And besides, you lead the majors in being hit since 2008! Craig Freaking Biggio thinks you get hit by pitches too much! I know you like to crowd the plate and all, but you can’t get all whiny when a pitcher puts one in your shoulder. By the way, if you’re going to wear a fastball, you pretty much took it in the right place. I might even be able to take one in the shoulder, and I’m a wuss.
But Carlos, you can’t get all bent out of shape about HBPs when that’s a huge part of your game! I did some rudimentary mathematics, and if we took all of those HBPs and turned them into outs, your average since 2008 would go from .246 (eww) to .235 (double eww). And your OBP … oh, your precious OBP would drop from .354 to .312. So basically, if you intend to get on base, you have to hope somebody nails you.
So Greinke nails you, and instead of taking first like a man, you throw a hissy and tackle the guy. Wait … you didn’t even tackle him. I think A.J. Ellis tackled you and you grabbed a hold of Greinke’s pants and hung on for dear life. But either way, you put the guy out for a few months. I hope you’re proud of yourself, and judging from your postgame interviews, it sounds like you are.
I’m sure your teammates are proud of you too. I mean, with Chase Headley on the shelf with an injury, and Yasmani Grandal on suspension, you might be the best offensive threat on the team (you know, with that awesome .246 average of yours). And now you’re probably getting suspended. Your team is hurting right now, and they need your leadership. And you … well, you got mad, threw a fit, and now you’re gone for a while. And that sucks.
In fact, that’s probably what sucks the most about the whole thing. It’s more fun to watch a baseball game in which the team’s best players are on the field. Last night was a great game until the sixth inning. Now, Dodgers fans are going to have to watch Chris Capuano or *shudder* Ted Lilly instead of Greinke. And Padres fans will watch … Jesus Guzman? Sorry, that’s not an upgrade.
It really is unfortunate, as you said yourself after the game. And you’re right — it could have been avoided. But not because Zack hit you. It could have been avoided if you’d just taken two more walking steps and thought about everything around you. I sincerely hope you do that next time you get hit. Please.
Sincerely,
Bryan Smith, Dodger fan