Retaliation Is Dumb

This past weekend, the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Arizona Diamondbacks engaged in a four-game series. In the second game of the series, Pirates relief pitcher accidentally hit Diamondbacks star and best player Paul Goldschmidt. The D-Bags D-Backs were not happy and decided the next night to hit Pirates star and MVP candidate Andrew McCutchen with a 95mph pitch in the back right near the spine. This was an incredibly gutless and cowardly act. Why not bean McCutchen in the first inning when he was expecting it? Why wait until the ninth inning when losing by five to hit him? To make matters worse, the D-Backs pitcher missed with the first pitch and then threw a slider down and away to get McCutchen to relax. It now seems that McCutchen will be out at least a month as he heads to the 15 day DL.

What purpose was served by this beaning? It doesn't bring Goldschmidt back to the team and only heightens the bad blood between the teams. It's juvenile is what it is. It's the same in hockey. Fighting is a terrible aspect of the sport. For example, in 2011, the New York Islanders decided to get revenge on the Penguins for this fight between back-up goaltender Brent Johnson and Islanders first overall bust Rick DiPietro. The Islanders are a dumpster fire of a team, and this only served to prove their middle school mentality.

What good do these fights and retaliations serve when showing the children that watch the games how to deal with problems. It shows them that violence is the only solution.  Hopefully the MLB will step up and appropriately suspend the pitcher and Kirk Gibson for the actions against the Pirates. Until then, it will be difficult to take the MLB seriously.