(Expletive) Clown

May 30, 2011 Joanna

I was feeling a bit sorry for John Danks when I saw his numbers. 0-7 is ugly, but he had an ERA under 5. When the ERA is fairly reasonable, one expects that there should at least be a win or two to show for the pitcher's efforts. Now I've decided that John Danks' team won't give him offense because they hate him. Possibly because he calls them clowns.

Now, Danks' nose was out of joint because he is 0-7 and he let the Jays' put up a 6 spot in the first. It was 9-1 in the 4th when Jose Bautista popped out and slammed his bat down before running it out. And Danks got annoyed. They exchanged words. People were told to run the bases, people took offense. People were called (expletive) clowns. Here is what Danks said post game:

“I just told him to run the bases. He was out there acting like a f—ing clown. I told him to run the bases. He’s a good player. He’s had a great year-and-a-half, no doubt, he’s been one of the best hitters in the league. He was out there acting like he’s Babe Ruth or something. That’s horses—, I think. He isn’t that good to be acting like he needs to hit every ball out of the ballpark. That’s just the way I feel. I have pride. I really do. I’ve had a pretty crappy year to this point but I have pride still and I’m not going to let him sit out there and show me up like that.”

Well, if you are going to be be a jerk and make it all about yourself, you could feel that way. If one watches the replay, one notices that Bautista misses his pitch, tucks his head down and is clearly annoyed. At himself. He isn't all "You got me this time, cabron. But next time..." He doesn't even look in Danks' direction until he passes the mound on his way back to the dugout and Danks yells at him. And a note to everyone in the league. Jose Bautista always swings out of his shoes. He always gets annoyed when he misses his pitch. He always thinks he can handle any pitch and put it in the seats. Why? Because he probably can. It's not personal.

You know what would be way more insulting to one's pride? Having guys go easy on you because you are struggling. To not bring their A game. And Danks, looking back on his comments, probably (hopefully) sees that now. Unless he is an (expletive) clown.

Romero pitched really well and worked through a little spot of bother early on. Whatever the reason, he looked like he was fighting it a bit in the early innings. But that is the mark of a true pitcher, to battle through when one doesn't have their A-game and still win. That change up is pure filth.

Yesterday was a laugher. Every starter in the lineup had a hit and they scored 13 runs. Corey Patterson continues to enjoy the heck out of hitting in front of Bautista, going 4 for 5 with a homer and 3 RBIs. Aaron Hill hit his first homer of the season, the first grand slam of his career, in the first. And that other homerless sad sack Encarnacion hit an absolute bomb to left field. With Ricky Romero's bat. His smile in the dugout and how happy his teammates looked for him showed how tight knit this group is. I mean, Bautista was literally jumping up and down.

Sort of like an (expletive) clown.