Attention America:
Scott Cousins did NOT intentionally injure Buster Posey. So, please stop with all this ridiculous crap. The rules don't need to be changed, and Cousins certainly doesn't deserve everything he's had to put up with since the collision happened. Oh, and by the way, the game was almost two weeks ago! (May 25 to be exact.) Seriously, it's time to get over it.
Does it suck that Posey got hurt? Of course. He's a great young player and the Giants wouldn't have won the World Series without him last season. He's already become the post-Bonds face of that franchise, and he was probably going to start the All-Star Game next month. But Cousins did absolutely nothing wrong, and to think he had any sort of malicious intent is utterly ridiculous (for starters, he's from San Francisco). This isn't Pete Rose barrelling over Ray Fosse in the All-Star Game. Cousins was trying to score the go-ahead run in the top of the 12th inning of a tie game. Posey was blocking the plate. What was he (Cousins) supposed to do? Not try to score? No. He did what you're supposed to do. It was a clean play all around. Even Posey has admitted such. He's a baseball player who was trying to make a baseball play. Unfortunately, Posey got hurt. I'm sure Cousins feels terrible about it.
With all that being said, there's absolutely no reason to vilify Scott Cousins. The guy's receiving death threats. Seriously, Giants fans? Do you remember what happened to one of your own on Opening Day? That was an actual crime, and I sincerely hope Bryan Stow's attackers are found and brought to justice, just like I pray he makes a full recovery. That senseless action takes place to a Giants fan, yet Giants fans as a whole still lack perspective to the point that they somehow equate that to what Scott Cousins did on the field (legally) in a game as if it's the same thing? Come on Giants fans, I thought you were better than that.
I also thought Brian Sabean was better than that. Dude, your the general manager of a Major League Baseball team. You need to control yourself a little bit better. For those of you who are unaware, Sabean went on a tirade on a San Francisco radio station saying that he thought the play was malicious and that he wants the Giants to "go after" Cousins the next time they play the Marlins. He even went so far as to say that he'd be happy if Cousins never plays another game in the Majors. Uncalled for? Just a bit. Unprofessional? Without a doubt. Marlins outfielder Logan Morrison said just that when he shot back at Sabean, when he also made the very good point that Sabean would probably feel a little differently if Posey was the base runner in that situation and it was another team's catcher that got hurt.
Now that he's no longer managing, Joe Torre works for Major League Baseball. I'm not really sure what his actual job is, but he's apparently some sort of baseball principal, since Sabean was called to the principal's office. As he should've been. He'll undoubtedly be fined, but that doesn't seem like enough. In my eyes, unprofessional behavior like that is grounds for a suspension. If the league doesn't do it, the Giants should.
But don't expect that to happen, either. Realizing their GM is an idiot, the Giants issued a statement on Friday that didn't really apologize for Sabean's comments. Instead, I interpreted it as damage control more than anything else. All it said was that the comments were made "out of frustration" and "weren't meant to vilify Scott Cousins." The Giants also made Sabean reach out to Cousins to "clarify" his remarks, but, shockingly, Cousins doesn't want to talk to him. I wonder why. The Giants' president also called the Marlins' president in an attempt to clear the air. Yeah, good luck with that.
Stop acting like Cousins killed Posey and just treat it like it is--a season-ending injury. When Yankees outfielder Nick Swisher broke Twins second baseman Tsuyoshi Nishioka's leg on a clean takeout slide in April, did anybody overreact like this? No. Seriously, move on. Hopefully, the Giants put an end to it in that "Brian Sabean Is an Idiot" press release. It said that instead of going after Scott Cousins, Giants fans should show their support for Buster Posey and his recovery. Wow! What a concept! It's not like your team won the World Series last year and has a great chance to get back this season or anything.
My "favorite" part of the whole Posey thing came in the immediate aftermath when GMs of other teams told their catchers not to block the plate. That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard in my entire life. Your catcher's job is to prevent the base runner from scoring on plays at the plate. Now you want them not to try to do that just so they don't get hurt? Doesn't make sense to me. If it makes sense to any of you, please explain the logic to me. I've got another plan. Block the plate correctly! That way, the runner won't score and the catcher won't get hurt.
Likewise, they don't need to change the rules to "protect" catchers on plays at the plate. That suggestion is just as asanine as the whole "don't block the plate" thing. Catchers know what they're getting into when they put all that equipment on. That's one of the reasons they wear all that equipment. Baseball's been played the same way for 150 years. You don't need to change the rules because one catcher got hurt. Catchers have gotten hurt before, and it seems pretty likely that it'll happen again. So, please, can we all just get over the fact that Buster Posey is out for the season and stop with all this ridiculous crap? Thank you.
P.S.-Who should I vote for as the National League All-Star catcher now?
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