Brian McCann is gone, but the Braves Decorum Police are still on the beat.
In yesterday’s game David Carpenter threw a pitch at Rockies hitter Corey Dickerson. I invite Braves fans to try to argue it wasn’t intentional, but it so clearly was that you’re embarrassing yourself if you claim otherwise. Watch it here.
The reason for the plunking: Dickerson hit catcher Gerald Laird with a foul tip and then caught him with a backswing on a foul ball just before, knocking him out of the game. That really does suck -- a guy can get seriously hurt like that and Laird was down in the dirt for a long time -- but there was no motive for Dickerson to do that to Laird on purpose whatsoever. And it’s not like Dickerson has magical powers and could direct the foul tip at Laird. And Laird himself said after the game that he knew the whole sequence was unintentional.
But don’t tell that to Carpenter. He got ejected and Rockies manager Walt Weiss got ejected for a particularly over-the-top argument, after which he smashed a bat into the dugout wall. Then Rockies and Braves pitchers started throwing at each other, leading to more ejections.
But hey, at least Carpenter taught Dickerson a lesson. About what, I have no idea, but he sure taught him.
