High Heels On The Field

Prince Fielder And The Question Of Protection

Prince Fielder has a welt on his thigh and the burly Brewer wants to mess you up.

You, meaning Dodgers reliever Guillermo Mota who threw, oh, pretty inside to the young star.

Mota would have been part of a baseball throw down had Fielder not been stopped by security and his teammates, as he tried to enter the Dodgers clubhouse Tuesday night. It happened after the Brewers fell to the Dodgers 17-4.

There are always surreal moments in baseball and this goes on the very long list.

Hitters today appear more defensive about being thrown inside to and it's a hotly-debated issue. If we're talking about headhunting, well then a line's been crossed. This is not the first time the Dodgers have been involved recently in a plunking controversy. Phillies OF Shane Victorino pointed out in the NLCS, that Hideki Koroda throwing at his ribs was fine, his head was off limits. And he literally pointed. Showing Koroda what was permissible and what wasn't.

But Mota wasn't headhunting. He was...thigh hunting? His pitch was within the limits of fairness and courtesy. It was retaliation done politely.

Fielder, 25, is growing up in baseball at a time when the personal codes of conduct on the field seem to be changing. Call me crazy, but are there less bench clearing brawls now? Not that I'm a fan of violence on the field, but, gee whiz, once in awhile I'd like to see some fired up players go at it. Sometimes a team needs to wake up a little and that's always a good way.

In a sense, Fielder may have been doing just that. Perhaps it was a call to arms, or runs for that matter. If his team saw him like that, it certainly puts him in a leadership role and earns their respect. If Mota, who was ejected, was protecting, Fielder was preparing for battle.

But the code of conduct for plunking is also getting blurry. Brewers manager Ken Macha said post-game that the game needs to clean itself up of the practice and allowing players to think it's acceptable.

To hit or not to hit? From everything I've learned all my life, location is key.

Though it's usually a negative, in baseball, hitting below the belt is considered fair play.

An Open Letter To Christine Brennan

On behalf of women in the sports journalism industry, I want to address your comment that women shouldn't "play to the frat house," because, well, "there are a lot of nuts out there."

I wonder, what we are supposed to believe about ourselves and our value in this industry, based on that comment. It was one of your several responses to the sexual violation of Erin Andrews. Only one of your Twitter responses was particularly considerate of her and that was after you'd been criticized.

If she were considered by men to be a cold bitch, the "frat house" would say she was asking for it for not being friendly enough. Let's get real. Someone filmed her naked, because of the way she looks. Whether she's a person known for being flirtatious- as she is- or known for being not at all flirtatious, made no difference.

But I wonder if you can see the flip side of your "frat house" comment: You implicated Erin Andrews in a crime against her.

Am I supposed to be proud of that? As a baseball writer still in the early part of my career, I wonder if being friendly, might mean that I'll be accused of playing to the frat house. Hope to God I'm never filmed naked, since it appears burning women at the stake for having some sort of evil power is still alive and well.

And you're right, Ms. Brennan. There are a lot of nuts out there. And they're all pointing fingers at a woman who has just been the victim of a crime.

Respectfully,

A friendly blond...gulp.

I wrote this letter out of frustration and hurt. It is no way meant to start a war of words or create bad feelings. I'd just like to know that we have each other's backs, as this incident suggests we have some things to talk about.

Pedro Martinez Brings Experience, Little Risk For Phillies

Pedro Martinez doesn't need an introduction, but received a proper one Wednesday at a press conference announcing he'd joined the Phillies.

It was comical, at times very lighthearted, but also an exercise in restraint and respect. He wouldn't bad mouth his former team, the New York Mets. He admitted he wasn't ready to pitch in the big leagues. He knows he needs some time, physically, to prepare.

Martinez appeared both humble and proud. He is a few weeks away from being ready to put his Phillies uniform on, but was grateful that the team is giving him an opportunity to pitch again. While his physical health is questionable, his ability to overcome it isn't. And at the one million bucks, signed just through the 2009 season, it is a low-risk move for the Phils. It could prove to be a failure. But it would be a failure that wouldn't deeply hurt the club in the long run. The cost isn't high in the present, nor the future.

Martinez is a dramatic player and brings with him a legacy of memorable moments (some good, some very bad), that are the stuff of baseball writer's dreams. He's a story before he's even thrown a pitch as a Phillie, and for reasons that have to do with that legacy. It would be a great comeback story. A great National League East story. And a wonderful, perhaps final, page in Martinez's baseball story.

So we wait for the middle and the end. But one of, if not the biggest Phillies stories of 2009 has already begun.

Phillies@Yankees; Austin Jackson Getting It Done

The upcoming series between the Yankees and Phillies at new Yankee Stadium has all the makings of an American League blowout. Don't be fooled - Phillies hit like they're an AL club.

It could be just in time, too, with Jimmy Rollins finally heating up at the plate. The Phils shortstop is hitting .283, after being dropped down in the lineup a few games. Who knows if it turned him around? Manager Charlie Manuel told me last season he's not afraid to try new things in teaching hitting ; though he was talking about Ryan Howard, the Rollins Experiment was a success as well.

Also interesting will be how in the name of all that is holy, the Phillies pitch Alex Rodriguez. If ever a guy is fueled with a mission- now more than ever- it's the Yankees superstar. He's been hot since coming back, with five home runs in four straight games.

I did some checking on fan favorite (and my favorite Thunder player to interview last season), Austin Jackson. Though I've not gotten to see him play this season, the OF is doing well at Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, hitting .344 with fourteen RBI. With a guy like Jackson, you know that he can be a positive force anywhere he plays. He checks his attitude at the door and his not afraid to learn. A young, very talented player can get crossed up maturing mentally. Jackson is already way beyond that point.