DEVELOPING: Marlins' Stanton Hit By Fastball In The Face

((HT: MLB.com))

And it went downhill from there...

Here's what started it all...


Then, pinch-hitter Reed Johnson came up to complete the at-bat and he got hit in the hand with the next pitch.

Benches clear and we had ejections.
((HT: Ryan Berenz))


In the 6th, Marlins reliever Anthony DeSclafani was ejected after hitting the Brewers' Carlos Gomez.

Then, we had more ejections.

The update from the Marlins:

Giancarlo suffered a laceration on the left side of his face. He is having x-rays and a CT scan performed at a local hospital.

When The Code Goes Kerflooey In Baseball

((HT: MLB/FS Arizona/ROOT Sports))

Diamondbacks stud first baseman Paul Goldschmidt's season is, probably, over with the hit by pitch that Ernesto Frieri gave him in his only at bat on Friday night in their game against the Pirates. There's a bone in his hand that's broken and will eight weeks minimum in getting better.

D-backs manager Kirk Gibson being Kirk Gibson responded Saturday where Bucos star Andrew McCutchen got hit in the back by Randall Delgado in the 9th inning of a 5-1 game


Goldschmidt was more realistic about it Friday night before the diagnosis was final


But it speaks to the larger question as to when managers cross lines...

What Frieri did looks like pitching inside
What Gibson did looks like revenge done poorly

The HQ sees nothing wrong with The Code, but codes take proper judgment in being implemented.
Doesn't look like that was the case here...

Don't Mess With Texas: Volume Four-Billion Eight

((HT: KZTV))

Blow outs in minor league baseball have a tendency to get out of hand a lot faster than major league baseball on the field and players aren't afraid to go after each other to enforce The Code...

Fans, however, are a different story in the minors...
((HT: Jeremy Barfield))


35-year-old Nikolas Swope didn't like his Hooks players getting plunked, so he was the one who charged the mound. He was charged with criminal trespassing and is also accused of threatening assault.

Shocking no one, police say Swope was under the influence of alcohol.

Yet Another Bird Disintegrates From A Pitch

((HT: TinCaps Productions))

The HQ would really know the odds on something like this...

We remember the physics of Force = Mass (x) Acceleration and all those SAT problems about trains leaving stations and finding out what time they pass from each other if they leave opposing train stations and all that stuff...

The HQ always missed those math problems...

In single-A, Fort Wayne was taking on West Michigan when Jon Maciel of the Whitecaps did this...

Here's the pitch and the aftermath


And, no, the HQ doesn't think the bird was okay...

Big Papi Got No Respect For David Price No More

((HT:MLB.com/CSNNE))

Tempers flared multiple times last night at Fenway as the Tampa bay Rays went after Boston.

And for David Price it seemed like last night was his opportunity to get back at David Ortiz after his playoff homer that rubbed Price the wrong way.

All the brushback and blowback is below


Papi talked after the game and called Price out...
It was quite colorful

MLB Looking Into Ump-Torii Hunter Incident

((HT: Vine via Lydia Virzi))

The Orioles Bud Norris gave up a home run ball to Ian Kinsler last night and, then, Torii Hunter was the next batter.

He got plunked in the ribs, the benches emptied, and then there was a moment with umpire Paul Nauert


Torii sloughed it off saying that Nauert was just getting him to focus- the two knew each other way too long for anything malicious to be thought of it...

But MLB will look into it, anyway...

Brian McCann: Enforcer For The Love Of The Game

((HT: FS Brewers/MLB))

Carlos Gomez is not, apparently, Marlins pitcher Jose Fernandez when it comes to admiring his handiwork...


But Braves catcher Brian McCann will be more than happy to tell you when you break the code...

Gomez, Braves first baseman Freddie Freeman and Gerald Laird were ejected. The umpires said that the Gomez run counted even though he had never touched home plate, invoking Role 7.06(a), which says an "obstructed runner shall be awarded at least one base beyond the base he had last legally touched before the obstruction."

Gomez and Maholm have a history... On June 23 at Miller Park, a Maholm fastball hit Gomez in the left knee. Gomez thought Maholm had intentionally struck him.

When Gomez rounded third base, he pointed at his knee while yelling at Maholm... connecting the two incidents...

At least, in theory...

Braves Heyward's Season Is Over By 90 MPH To The Face

((HT: LiveLeak/MLB/FS Braves))

Jason Heyward's season is over...
Because of this...


Heyward was taken to a New York hospital for X-rays, which revealed two fractures. He and Braves trainer Jeff Porter stayed behind at a Manhattan area hospital while the team left for their series in St. Louis.

What is it about the Braves and Citi Field anyway...???

DEVELOPING: Dempster Gets 5 Games

((HT: ESPN/MLB))

For This...???


What say you, faithful reader...???
Is it a worthy punishment...???

He was fined an undisclosed amount for "intentionally throwing at and hitting Alex Rodriguez."

"I was just trying to pitch inside," he said after the game in defense...

Braves And Nats Go To Twitter To Decide Quien Es Mas Macho...

((HT: Broadway Video/MASN/MLB))

The Nationals are in free fall as the pitching and hitting that was around to make the playoffs last year is nowhere to be found this year. The Nats are 14-and-a-half behind the Braves and are staring a sweep right in the face.

So, what happens after Bryce Harper homers off Julio Teheran the second time he comes to the plate...??/

Here's Harper getting hit...


That made zero sense from Teheran. The only solution should have been for the two to go ahead and play "Texas Whip Out," get out the nearest rulers, and settle it that way. But that wouldn't have made good television...

So, they tried to settle it 140 letters at a time, and hilarity ensued...

The Braves Twitter feed, which seems to have a mind of its own, responded in kind to the outburst...

Clown move bro

To which the Nats came back with (before it was deleted):

Which part, giving up the home run, or drilling the 20-year-old on the first pitch his next time up?

Ah, the Twitter Machine...