It is very interesting to me that the two primary instigators of the more serious incidents, Brett Lawrie and Adam Eaton, came out unscathed, with no fines or suspensions. Had Lawrie not slid into second base with spikes high and reckless disregard for the safety of our shortstop, and had Eaton just kept his mouth shut and run to first base on his ground out to our pitcher, neither event would have happened. Also, in the first game of the season, had Samardzjia not drilled Cain, right after getting ripped for a home run, none of this bad blood with the White Sucks might have gotten started. Again, except for the Ventura/Trout event, none of these incidents have been initiated by the Royals. Does make one wonder why MLB has dropped the hammer on KC. Originally Posted by stimulatethemindI think it has to do with the timing and execution of the Royals retaliations. Nobody would disagree that the Royals have a right to protect themselves, it's more to do with their overreaction. Quite a few knowledgeable baseball people (including retired Royal legends) didn't feel the slide was dirty, just an agressive play. If I recall correctly, Lawrie was beamed twice for that slide (or an attempt by Huerra) with Huerra pointing at his head. Overreaction.
Ventura certainly overreacted with Trout and again with Eaton. I blame both incidences on Ventura. He needs to learn to keep his cool and pick his spots when to retaliate, and these two times, there was no need for his drama. The more the Royals do this crap, the more the other teams will continue to goad them into suspenable reactions. Ventura is not helping this team right now, he is hurting them. You can't help if you can't play. The Royals are young and inexperienced at what is happening to them, and the faster they learn when to blow BS off and when to legitimately retaliate the better off they will be.
I love this Royals team, they have alot of spunk and fight in them besides just being a damn good team talent wise. They just need to harness their energizes into beating these teams they are better than, instead of getting sucked into the drama. MLB doesn't have it out for the Royals, the Royals, at times, are their own worse enemy.