The storyline being generated for the series between the Texas Rangers and the Toronto Blue Jays is not about baseball. Instead, the headlines revolve around the feud between the two teams that evolved during the regular season. Rougned Odor, the chief antagonist, says it’s over. Don’t believe that for one second…
The old saying that if it walks like a duck and talks like a duck, then it’s a duck rings true in any discussion about the brand of baseball that the Toronto Blue Jays play these days. And for many, they are fast becoming the team that you love to hate as the playoffs move forward.
They’ve been known for bat flips when they receive an intentional walk. They have a starting pitcher who screams at a batter to get off the field after he strikes them out. And they generally carry a swagger onto the field that suggests, “Go on, just do something to set me off. Go on, do it.”
So it comes with a bit of skepticism when Texas Rangers second baseman Rougned Odor, who landed the punch heard ’round the world on Jose Bautista earlier this year, tells MLB.com that, “It’s in the past already. I don’t worry about that. I just worry about today and tomorrow. We’re just trying to play how we play and try to win this series.”
Well, that could very well be wishful thinking on Odor’s part. But it doesn’t seem likely that the Blue Jays, and especially Bautista, would be likely to forgive and forget. And if they did, they wouldn’t be a duck anymore and that’s not likely to happen.
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For the most part, the Mets were able to move beyond “the slide” that broke the leg of their shortstop last year. But the Blue Jays have been playing with a flair all season and they are not likely to change their ways now just because it’s the playoffs and the whole world of baseball is watching. It just doesn’t work that way.
Add to that, we have Elvis Andrus insisting that “It’s easy to say that (things will be calm) right now, but during the game anything can happen. I think it’s going to bring a lot more excitement to the games. There’s probably going to be a lot of rules before every game, but it’s baseball, man. That’s the beauty of this. We’re ready to go. We’re not going to stop playing the way we play.”
So don’t expect the Rangers to back down either. We can be sure that Joe Torre and other suits from MLB have met with the umpires scheduled to call the games. The message delivered would be very terse: “Don’t take any crap and don’t let things get out of hand.”
But having said that, you don’t toss players from a playoff game like you might during the regular season. And it all comes down to the managers and players policing themselves.
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This is not NASCAR where many fans tune in to watch a good wreck, or football where the crash of a helmet on helmet is cause for celebration and repeated super-slow motion replays of “the hit.” This is baseball and hopefully both teams will hold their emotions in check and just play the game.
But… I sure would like to see that punch that nailed Bautista one more time.